Synonyms

abolish

American

[uh-bol-ish] / əˈbɒl ɪʃ /

verb (used with object)

to do away with; put an end to; annul; make void.

to abolish slavery.

Synonyms:

eliminate , extirpate , exterminate , extinguish , obliterate , annihilate , cancel , nullify , suppress

Antonyms:

establish

abolish British

/ əˈbɒlɪʃ /

verb

(tr) to do away with (laws, regulations, customs, etc); put an end to

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

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

abolishable adjective
abolisher noun
abolishment noun
unabolishable adjective
unabolished adjective
well-abolished adjective

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”

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.

Nevertheless, the policy wasn’t abolished until the late 1960s.

From Salon

Then, the VAT exemption for electric vehicles would be abolished entirely by 2027.

From Barron's

In 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World rejected the AFL’s narrow craft unionism, calling for one big union uniting all workers to abolish wage labor.

From The Wall Street Journal

Labour had planned to abolish this qualifying period completely, alongside a new legal probation period to be determined after a consultation.

From BBC

Rank’s shares—which rallied Wednesday after the U.K. government said it would abolish a bingo duty—dropped 10% on Thursday after the company issued a profit warning.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023