abolitionist

American  

[ab-uh-lish-uh-nist] / ˌæb əˈlɪʃ ə nɪst /

noun

1. (especially prior to the Civil War) a person who advocated or supported the abolition of slavery in the U.S.

2. a person who favors the abolition of any law or practice deemed harmful to society.

   the abolitionists who are opposed to capital punishment.

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Other Word Forms

• proabolitionist noun

Etymology

Origin of abolitionist

First recorded in 1830–40; abolition + -ist

Example Sentences

His mother, who introduced him at age 5 to Walden Pond, was an abolitionist who ran a station on the Underground Railroad, for which he would act as a conductor.

From Los Angeles Times

She was the boon companion of the women’s-rights activist Susan B. Anthony, and she could count among friends and allies the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

From The Wall Street Journal

That October, militant abolitionist John Brown attempted to seize guns and start a revolt of enslaved people to destroy American slavery.

From Literature

What about critics who say the self-described police abolitionist should work closer with law enforcement to clean up the park, I told her.

From Los Angeles Times

“Nobody reads them anymore, not since that abolitionist Abe Lincoln lost the Senate contest.”

From Literature