abolitionist
AmericanOther Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of abolitionist
Explanation
An abolitionist was someone who wanted to end slavery, especially in the United States before the Civil War — when owning slaves was common practice. Back when many landowners in the United States forced slaves to work their land, abolitionists believed that slavery violated the basic human right of freedom, and organized to make slavery illegal, writing anti-slavery literature, proposing new laws, and smuggling slaves into free Canada. The Latin root abolere means “destroy,” and an abolitionist is generally a person who wants to destroy any law or practice, like the abolitionists who fight to end the death penalty.
Vocabulary lists containing abolitionist
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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.
Thompson was released from prison in 2017 and now works at the Abolitionist Law Center, which files lawsuits over poor conditions behind bars.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2024
Abolitionist lawyers were aided by politicians in wresting the issue away from ethicists and philosophers, moralists and clergy, and making the courts the arena for debate.
From Slate • Oct. 1, 2024
Prabhu, with the Abolitionist Law Center, described Bozeman as “the sweetest, sweetest person.”
From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2024
Other books, such as Ruha Benjamin’s Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code, followed on how algorithms needed to be changed to increase economic opportunities and decrease racial bias.
From Scientific American • Sep. 20, 2022
Though the Standard carefully avoided all mention of Harriet Tubman's name, it was a recognized fact in Abolitionist circles that she was responsible for the panic.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
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.
