abolish

[uh-bol-ish]

verb (used with object)

1. 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

/ əˈbɒlɪʃ /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of abolish¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French aboliss-, long stem of abolir, from Latin abolēre “to destroy, efface”

Word History and Origins

Origin of abolish¹

C15: from Old French aboliss- (lengthened stem of abolir ), ultimately from Latin abolēre to destroy

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

It was finally abolished under Western pressure and after decades of resistance, foot dragging and delay; in the case of Saudi Arabia, it was legal until 1962.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When Kemi Badenoch said a future Conservative government would abolish it on the purchase of main homes, it went down well at the Tory Party conference.

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It seeks to create a more welcoming environment for conservatives, asking colleges to make governance changes and abolish departments that “purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

One term asks universities to commit to “transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

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That includes “transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abrogate 
• annul 
• cancel 
• dissolve 
• eradicate 
• nullify 
• overthrow 
• overturn 
• prohibit 
• put an end to 
• repeal 
• rescind 
• revoke 
• set aside 
• stamp out 
• suppress 
• terminate 
• wipe out