Contraceptive

adj, noun

adj, noun ·4 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A mechanism or means by which conception as a result of sexual intercourse can be prevented or made less likely.

    "Putting a pig's bladder over one's penis before intercourse is not a good contraceptive."

  2. 2
    an agent or device intended to prevent conception wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    That acts to prevent conception as a result of sexual intercourse.

    "She was careful to take her contraceptive pill at the same time every day."

Adjective
  1. 1
    capable of preventing conception or impregnation wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
aegisanticonceptiveanticonceptiveantifertilityantifertilityarm guard

Example

More examples

"In Japan the ring shaped ones came into use first so they're also often called "contraceptive rings"."

Etymology

Coined in the 20th century from contra- + conceptive; compare the related contraception.

Related phrases

contraceptive spongeintrauterine contraceptive devicesexual intercourse

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.