abolition

[ab-uh-lish-uhn]

noun

1. the act of abolishing or the state of being abolished: the abolition of capital punishment;

   the abolition of war;

   the abolition of capital punishment;

   the abolition of unfair taxes.

   Synonyms: repeal, revocation, invalidation, nullification, elimination, eradication, annihilation
   Antonyms: establishment

2. the legal prohibition of slavery, especially the institutional enslavement of Black people in the U.S.

abolition

/ ˌæbəˈlɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of abolishing or the state of being abolished; annulment

2. (often capital) (in British territories) the ending of the slave trade (1807) or the ending of slavery (1833): accomplished after a long campaign led by William Wilberforce

3. (often capital) (in the US) the emancipation of the slaves, accomplished by the Emancipation Proclamation issued in 1863 and ratified in 1865

Other Word Forms

• abolitionary adjective
• nonabolition noun
• proabolition adjective
• abolitionist noun
• abolitionism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of abolition¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin abolitiōn- (stem of abolitiō ), equivalent to abolit(us) “effaced, destroyed,” past participle of abolēre “to destroy, efface” + -iōn- noun suffix; abolish, -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of abolition¹

C16: from Latin abolitio, from abolēre to destroy

Example Sentences

Last month the United Nations General Assembly received a report from Reem Alsalem, its special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, calling for global abolition of surrogacy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In her speech at the Labour Party Conference in 2025, Rachel Reeves promised "nothing less than the abolition of long-term youth unemployment".

Read more on BBC

But recent policy measures, such as the abolition of an angel tax, are expected to further strengthen investor confidence in India.

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It appears that the abolition of the de minimis exemption for the shipment of low-value goods to the U.S. has not had the debilitating effect many analysts had forecast.

Read more on MarketWatch

Some called for the abolition of standing charges, while others say the proposals would make the issue worse for customers.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• abolishment www.thesaurus.com
• abrogation 
• annulment 
• cancellation 
• destruction 
• dissolution 
• elimination 
• eradication 
• nullification 
• overthrow 
• repeal 
• revocation 
• termination 
• withdrawal