1
stillborn + noun (baby, child, animal)
字面义，指出生时已经死亡的婴儿或动物幼崽。
The vet delivered a stillborn calf.
兽医接生了一头死产的小牛。
失败的；夭折的；胎死腹中的
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
失败的；夭折的；胎死腹中的
failing to accomplish an intended result; abortive
The vet delivered a stillborn calf.
兽医接生了一头死产的小牛。
多指计划、想法等未能实现
出生时已死亡的；死产的。
Dead at birth.
未能达成预期结果
failing to accomplish an intended result
一开始就被忽视、没有影响力或失败的；夭折的。
Ignored, without influence, or unsuccessful from the outset; abortive.
(新生儿)出生时无生命迹象的；非活产的
(of newborn infant) showing no signs of life at birth; not liveborn
The proposed merger was stillborn after the two companies failed to agree on a price.
拟议中的合并因两家公司未能就价格达成一致而夭折。
AI contextual example
Her plan to start a bakery was stillborn because she couldn't secure a loan.
她开面包店的计划因未能获得贷款而胎死腹中。
AI contextual example
The project was stillborn as soon as the manager lost the team's support.
经理失去团队支持后，该项目便胎死腹中。
AI contextual example
a stillborn plot to assassinate the President
一个胎死腹中的刺杀总统阴谋。
WordNet
字面义，指出生时已经死亡的婴儿或动物幼崽。
The vet delivered a stillborn calf.
兽医接生了一头死产的小牛。
比喻用法，指计划、谈判等尚未实现便失败。
The proposal was stillborn from the start.
这项提案从一开始就胎死腹中。
Not this
The baby stillborned.
Use this
The baby was stillborn.
stillborn 是形容词，不是动词，不能直接加 -ed 作谓语。表示“死产”时应使用系动词 be，即 The baby was stillborn。
Not this
The baby was born stillborn.
Use this
The baby was stillborn.
stillborn 本身已含有“出生时已死亡”的意思，再加 born 会造成语义重复。正确的表达是 The baby was stillborn。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
死产婴儿
The nurse gently told the parents that they had a stillborn baby.
护士轻声告诉父母，他们生下了一个死产婴儿。
胎死腹中的计划
The proposal was a stillborn plan because no one supported it.
这项提议是个胎死腹中的计划，因为没有人支持它。
夭折的想法
The stillborn idea never made it into the final report.
这个夭折的想法从未进入最终报告。
胎死腹中的立法
The reform was stillborn legislation after the committee rejected it.
委员会否决后，这项改革成了胎死腹中的立法。
一开始就注定失败的想法
The committee dismissed the proposal as a stillborn idea.
委员会认为这项提案是一个一开始就注定失败的想法，予以否决。
胎死腹中的计划
The ambitious reform remained a stillborn plan.
这项雄心勃勃的改革仍然是一个胎死腹中的计划。
尚未开始就失败的事业
The startup was a stillborn venture, closing before launch.
这家初创公司是一项尚未开始就失败的事业，还未启动就关闭了。
Use stillborn naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想记忆：still（静止）+born（出生），出生时静止不动，即“死产的”；引申为计划“胎死腹中”。
语域：mixed 常见场景：医疗记录、新闻报道、正式评述 该词有两个常见使用场景：医学语境中指“死产的”，通常出现在病历或正式文件中；引申义表示“失败的、夭折的”，多用于书面语和新闻报道。日常口语中较少使用，整体偏正式。
In American English, born, corn, horn, worn, and warn (spelled -ar) rhyme with the -born in stillborn: all end in /ɔrn/. Barn is a lookalike that sounds different: /bɑrn/.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.