abortive
adj.adj. describing an attempt that failed completely and did not reach its goal. In medicine, it often refers to a failed pregnancy or a failed attempt to start a process.
adj. characterised by failure to reach a desired conclusion or goal. In a medical context, it describes a pregnancy that ends in miscarriage before the 20th week of gestation.
The mission was an abortive attempt to reach the summit.
The researchers noted that the abortive results of the first trial led them to revise their hypothesis for the next phase.
The abortive nature of the early negotiations suggested that neither party was willing to compromise on the core issues of territorial sovereignty and economic integration.
First attested in 1382, with the meaning "causing stillbirth or miscarriage". From Middle English abortif, from Old French abortif, from Latin abortīvus (“causing abortion”), from aborior (“miscarry, disappear”), from ab (“amiss”) + orior (“appear, be born, arise”).