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: invalidation, eradication, repeal, revocation, nullification, elimination, 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

Derived Forms

• ˌaboˈlitionary, adjective
• ˌaboˈlitionist, nounadjective
• ˌaboˈlitionism, noun

Other Words From

• abo·lition·ary adjective
• nonab·o·lition noun
• proab·o·lition adjective

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

That success — and the steady transformation of the motion to recommit into a political cudgel — has prompted many Democrats to call for its modification or abolition.

From Washington Post

Most people understand the abolition of policing, for instance, to be about the elimination of the police.

From Vox

When people speak of abolition, they think about it as a far-off thing.

From Vox

However, when the recent protests erupted, skeptics called police abolition extreme and impossible.

From Vox

Phrases like “abolish police,” “defund police” and “police abolition” — concepts that have been central to the Black Lives Matter movement but less mainstream when discussing police reform — have also seen sharp upticks in interest.

From FiveThirtyEight

A foreigner such as Bartholdi viewed the abolition of slavery as Liberty achieved in the United States.

From The Daily Beast

And while abolition of the air force is unlikely, the factions that believe in the primacy of boots on the ground are influential.

From The Daily Beast

The acting President vetoed the abolition but the parliamentary move still rankles in Crimea.

From The Daily Beast

Why isn't his first step the abolition of the State Department's outrageous program of state-sponsored serfdom?

From The Daily Beast

There is no goal of the abolition of the State of Israel, or even its transformation into one secular democratic state.

From The Daily Beast

Ample tolerance of all religions and sects, but abolition and expulsion of all monastic Orders.

From Project Gutenberg

Pipes continued to appear upon the stage until its abolition (in company with the Prayer Book) by the Puritan rulers.

From Project Gutenberg

His reign was brief, but was distinguished for various important measures of reform, and the abolition of colonial slavery.

From Project Gutenberg

The government would not act a weak part in conceding the abolition of the oath in the said cases.

From Project Gutenberg

That government seems at present disposed to concede the abolition of that oath to the Catholics of Ireland.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abolishment
• abrogation
• annulment
• cancellation
• destruction
• dissolution
• elimination
• eradication
• nullification
• overthrow
• repeal
• revocation
• termination
• withdrawal