•A cis-2,3-cyclopropanated ABA analogue was designed and synthesized successfully.•Its photostability is 4-fold higher than that of (±)-ABA.•cis-2,3-cyclopropanated ABA has high ABA-like activity.The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays a central role in the regulation of plant development and adaptation to environmental stress. The isomerization of ABA to the biologically inactive 2E-isomer by light considerably limits its applications in agricultural fields. To overcome this shortcoming, an ABA analogue, cis-2,3-cyclopropanated ABA, was synthesized, and its photostability and biological activities were investigated. This compound showed high photostability under UV light exposure, which was 4-fold higher than that of (±)-ABA. cis-2,3-cyclopropanated ABA exhibited high ABA-like activity, including the ability to effectively inhibit seed germination, seedling growth and stomatal movements of Arabidopsis. In some cases, its bioactivity approaches that of (±)-ABA. trans-2,3-cyclopropanated abscisic acid was also prepared, an isomer that was more photostable but which showed weak ABA-like activity.To inhibit the isomerization of plant hormone ABA by light, a cis-2,3-cyclopropanated ABA analogue was designed and synthesized successfully. The compound has notably higher photostability compared to ABA and shows high ABA-like activity.