abolish
[uh-bol-ish]
- to do away with; put an end to; annul; make void: to abolish slavery.
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Origin of abolish
1425–75; late Middle English < Middle French aboliss-, long stem of abolir < Latin abolēre to destroy, efface, put an end to; change of conjugation perhaps by association with Latin abolitiō abolition
Synonyms
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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.
Antonyms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
eliminationnullificationdissolutionabrogationannulmentvoidanceinvalidationcancellationendingvitiationdefeasanceExamples from the Web for abolishment
Contemporary Examples
But this offering was rejected by activists who are pushing for new elections and an abolishment of the anti-protest laws.
Just last week, Gershom Gorenberg argued in these pages for the abolishment of the chief rabbinate.
He also once wrote an article calling for the abolishment of soccer.
Historical Examples
It indicates the way, too, for the abolishment of the peculiar institution of Utah.
The Life of John TaylorB. H. Roberts
The Edmunds bill is a step towards the abolishment of polygamy.
Half for the temple and half for himself; and the abolishment of the seven leopards.
The Adventures of KathlynHarold MacGrath
Whenever you hear of a Clancy obstructin' the abolishment of existin' governments you may notify me by return mail.'
Cabbages and KingsO. Henry
It was evident that this Assembly must take a definite position with reference to the question of the abolishment of slavery.
abolish
- (tr) to do away with (laws, regulations, customs, etc); put an end to
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Word Origin
C15: from Old French aboliss- (lengthened stem of abolir), ultimately from Latin abolēre to destroy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for abolishment
abolish
v.
mid-15c., from Middle French aboliss-, present participle stem of abolir "to abolish" (15c.), from Latin abolere "destroy, cause to die out, retard the growth of," perhaps from ab- "from" (see ab-) + adolere "to grow," from PIE *ol-eye-, causative of root *al- "to grow, nourish" (see old), and perhaps formed as an antonym to adolere. But the Latin word rather could be from a root in common with Greek ollymi, apollymi "destroy." Tucker writes that there has been a confusion of forms in Latin, based on similar roots, one meaning "to grow," the other "to destroy." Application to persons and concrete objects has long been obsolete. Related: Abolished; abolishing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper