Mifepristone

//ˌmɪ.fɛˈpɹɪ.stəʊn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A steroid medication that inhibits the action of progesterone, typically given orally in combination with misoprostol in early pregnancy to induce abortion. uncountable

    "Now a year later, as the courts consider the fate of mifepristone and abortion providers gird for the possibility of a miso-only protocol, Cristina says that she’s grateful she was able to end her unwanted pregnancy, although she knows not everyone has access to the same resources […]"

  2. 2
    an abortion-inducing drug (trade name RU 486) developed in France; when taken during the first five weeks of pregnancy it blocks the action of progesterone so that the uterus sloughs off the embryo wordnet

Example

More examples

"Now a year later, as the courts consider the fate of mifepristone and abortion providers gird for the possibility of a miso-only protocol, Cristina says that she’s grateful she was able to end her unwanted pregnancy, although she knows not everyone has access to the same resources […]"

Etymology

From (a)mi(no)phe(nyl) + pr(opargyl) + ist- (“alteration of (o)est(radiol)”) + -one.

Related phrases

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