abolish
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Synonym Usage
Abolish, eradicate, stamp out mean to do away completely with something. To abolish is to cause to cease, often by a summary order: to abolish a requirement. Stamp out implies forcibly making an end to something considered undesirable or harmful: to stamp out the opium traffic. Eradicate (literally, to tear out by the roots ), a formal word, suggests extirpation, leaving no vestige or trace: to eradicate all use of child labor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
abolishernoun
-
abolishmentnoun
-
abolishableadjective
-
unabolishableadjective
-
unabolishedadjective
-
well-abolishedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
abolishsimple
-
abolishessimple
-
have abolishedperfect
-
has abolishedperfect
-
am abolishingprogressive
-
are abolishingprogressive
-
is abolishingprogressive
-
have been abolishingperfect progressive
-
has been abolishingperfect progressive
Past
-
abolishedsimple
-
had abolishedperfect
-
was abolishingprogressive
-
were abolishingprogressive
-
had been abolishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abolish
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French aboliss-, long stem of abolir, from Latin abolēre “to destroy, efface”
Explanation
To abolish is to get rid of or annul. So when the principal yells at you for the 100th time for not having your shirt tucked in, it's safe to wish they'd just abolish the silly dress code. The word abolish might stir up some historical connotations, since in the U.S. it's commonly associated with bringing an end to slavery. In fact, those who opposed slavery were called "abolitionists." The word comes to us from the Latin word abolere, meaning "to destroy or cause to die out." These days abolish is used to bring a final and official-sounding end to laws, codes, and unsavory practices.
Vocabulary lists containing abolish
The Declaration of Independence
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Life Is So Good
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Germany will raise its retirement age gradually beyond 67, abolish early retirement and expand compulsory pension contributions under a set of new recommendations backed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
The union also wanted Samsung to abolish a bonus cap of 50% of annual salaries and allocate 15% of annual operating profit to a bonus pool distributed to workers.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
And some lawmakers in North Carolina seek to follow suit: A bill introduced in the state Senate last spring seeks to abolish both homewrecker laws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
There was no urgent need to redefine the purpose and character of a museum, to abolish more than two centuries of acquired knowledge and start again.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Some states like Pennsylvania and Massachusetts had begun to abolish slavery along with the slave trade.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Some of this friction is inevitable; care tasks are cyclical, after all, and no system abolishes effort entirely.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2026
The new version of the constitution also declares Uzbekistan a "social state" with increased welfare obligations, abolishes death penalty, establishes greater personal legal protection, and allows non-farming land ownership.
From Reuters ● Apr. 27, 2023
RIP’s model of buying debt at discount prices is especially attractive to donors because on average, every $1 donated abolishes about $100 in face value medical debt.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2023
Musk creates an “official” label for high-profile Twitter accounts, and abolishes it hours later.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 19, 2022
He abolishes sand traps which displease him, and creates new ones.
From Fore! by Loan, Charles Emmett Van
Paris abolished them after a referendum in 2023.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ken Gerber, a solicitor in Glasgow, explains that most residential properties in Scotland are already owned outright after a feudal-style system of land ownership was abolished in 2000.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Undue Medical Debt said it’s abolished more than $40 billion of medical debt in all 50 states.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
In the midst of the Covid pandemic, the University of California system in 2020 abolished the requirement that applicants submit an SAT or ACT score.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Black told Gold that the Soviet government had abolished private property and was making all the decisions about what the economy should produce, and how goods should be distributed.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
He also infuriated colleagues in the coalition government, the British press reported, proposing a stream of unconventional ideas: scrapping maternity leave, abolishing job centers, even buying cloud-bursting technology so Britain would have more sunshine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Britain transported an estimated three million African people across the Atlantic before abolishing the practice in the early 1800s.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
It could even reach for a nuclear option: abolishing the draft altogether, and making incoming rookies free agents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
Both leaders came with lofty goals, yet discussed methodical steps that included a 50 percent cut in strategic nuclear arms, with the ultimate target of abolishing the entire global nuclear stockpile by the year 2000.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2026
The efforts to dig a channel for Might had failed, even when it was turned to the spirit and now he was feeling his way towards abolishing it.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
