Contraceptive

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈkÉ’n.trəˌsÉ›p.tɪv/

Origin

Coined in the twentieth century from - + conceptive; compare the related contraception.

Full definition of contraceptive

Adjective

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.
• 1994, P. F. A. Van Look, Gregorio Pérez-Palacios, World Health Organization, Contraceptive Research and Development, 1984-1994: The Road from Mexico City to Cairo and Beyond,This has led to the selection of 4-guanidinobenzoates with either acetamenophen or ethylparaben as the phenol moiety for clinical evaluation, because they are orders of magnitude more contraceptive than nonoxynol-9 and less irritating to the vagina.

Noun

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 during intercourse is not a good 'contraceptive.''
• 2004, World Health Organization, Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use (Second edition),The document covers the following family planning methods: combined oral contraceptives (COCs), combined injectable contraceptives (CICs), progestogen-only pills (POPs), depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), norethisterone enantate (NET-EN), levonorgestrel implants, emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), copper-bearing interuterine devices, levonorgestrel-releasing interuterine devices (LNG IUDs), fertility awareness-based methods, and sterilization.