abolish
Americanverb (used with object)
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abolishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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abolished,
past participle, past
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abolishing
present participle
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
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abolishernoun
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abolishmentnoun
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abolishableadjective
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unabolishableadjective
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unabolishedadjective
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well-abolishedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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abolishsimple
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abolishessimple
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have abolishedperfect
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has abolishedperfect
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am abolishingprogressive
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are abolishingprogressive
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is abolishingprogressive
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have been abolishingperfect progressive
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has been abolishingperfect progressive
Past
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abolishedsimple
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had abolishedperfect
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was abolishingprogressive
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were abolishingprogressive
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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
List 1
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The Declaration of Independence
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Life Is So Good
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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.
See Examples For:
Miller describes the UK as "more than a political arrangement", saying each helped to develop industries, abolish the slave trade, liberate Europe, and shape the modern world.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
In 2020 after the killing of George Floyd generated widespread campus calls for social justice, another movement to abolish Greek life sprung up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
He sought to create a selfless “New Man” and tried to abolish money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
These tolls provided up to two-thirds of the kingdom’s annual income; it took an international trade conference to finally abolish them in 1857.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
The knife was good for cutting between worlds, but it couldn’t abolish distance within them.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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
Musk creates an “official” label for high-profile Twitter accounts, and abolishes it hours later.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 19, 2022
The new law erodes the effects of single family zoning, he said, "but it in no way overrides or abolishes it."
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2021
It also creates new offences of "stirring up hatred" - which previously applied only to race - and abolishes the offence of blasphemy which has not been prosecuted in Scotland for more than 175 years.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2021
Labour, he tells us in the Contradictions more explicitly, is the principle of wealth, the power which creates or abolishes values, or puts them in proportion one to another, and also distributes them.
From Anarchism A Criticism and History of the Anarchist Theory by Ernst Viktor Zenker
The program comes days after the Supreme Court abolished limits on the purchase of rural land by foreigners.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The old town councils - abolished in 1975 - which provided local services for distinct communities, sometimes of only a few thousand people.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Every coin America has ever abolished, from the half-cent in 1857 forward, died the same way.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
By the time Congress created the modern 10th Circuit in 1929, it had abolished circuit riding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
As part of his social agenda, the Captain abolished the worst aspects of the company-store system in Coalwood.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
The other barrier to abolishing fraternities is their popularity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
When Watters pressed him about abolishing ICE, he did not surrender the moral argument or get stuck in a defensive loop.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
An amendment abolishing slavery was passed by Congress in January 1865.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
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
“It is easy for dreamers to speak of abolishing slavery,” said Mr. Sharpe.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
