Dictionary

contracept en · VERB

Etymology

Back-formation from contraception. Attested US 1932, with earlier occasional use as abbreviation for contraceptive in the medical literature; popularized US mid-1960s in the context of the sexual revolution.

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To use contraception
   • Through the wisdom of our legislators, only the intelligent may contracept, while the stupid are commanded to reproduce their kind. 1932, Will Durant, R. Long, R.R. Smith, “On the meaning of life”, in Inc., page 121:
   • it is also assumed that women who breastfeed being contracepting as soon as they stop breastfeeding unless the sum of the duration of breastfeeding and the duration of contraception is greater than the length of the interval from last birth to next conception 1983, Toni Richards, Comparative analysis of fertility, breastfeeding, and contraception: a dynamic model, National Academies, page 27:
   • … the facile assumption that we may be able to contracept our way to the Great Society. 1965, Stephen J. Plank, quoted in “Professor Warns Against Assuming Birth Pill To Cure Population Boom”, The Harvard Crimson, January 05, 1966
2. (transitive) To administer contraception, especially to a population of wild animals

Forms

wikipedia: sexual revolution