Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense abolishes, present participle abolishing, past tense, past participle abolished
verb
If someone in authority abolishes a system or practice, they formally put an end to it.
The following year Parliament voted to abolish the death penalty for murder. [VERB noun]
The whole system should be abolished.
Synonyms: do away with, end, destroy, eliminate More Synonyms of abolish
abolish in British English
(əˈbɒlɪʃ)
verb
(transitive)
to do away with (laws, regulations, customs, etc); put an end to
Derived forms
abolishable (aˈbolishable)
adjective
abolisher (aˈbolisher)
noun
abolishment (aˈbolishment)
noun
Word origin
C15: from Old French aboliss- (lengthened stem of abolir), ultimately from Latin abolēre to destroy
abolish in American English
(əˈbɑlɪʃ)
verb transitive
to do away with completely; put an end to; esp., to make (a law, etc.) null and void
SYNONYMY NOTE: abolish denotes a complete doing away with something, as a practice, institution, or condition[to abolish slavery, bias, etc.]; annul, abrogate stress a canceling by authority or formal action [the marriage was annulled; the law abrogated certain privileges]; rescind, revoke, repeal all describe the setting aside of laws, orders, etc. [to rescind an order, revoke a charter, repeal a law]
OPPOSITE: establish
Derived forms
abolisher (aˈbolisher)
noun
abolishment (aˈbolishment)
noun
Word origin
ME abolisshen < OFr aboliss-, extended stem of abolir < L abolescere, to decay little by little, inceptive of abolere, to retard, destroy: formed, with ab-, from, to contrast with adolere, to increase, grow
Examples of 'abolish' in a sentence
abolish
This government abolished the death penalty, got rid of the secret police and granted an amnesty for political prisoners.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The effect of the judgment is not to abolish the present system.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
And that begins with abolishing the loan system.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Its first act was to abolish the death penalty.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
That is why we announced plans to abolish practice boundaries two years ago.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Nearly eight out of ten want the practice to be abolished.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The honours system should be abolished in its present form and a revising chamber should be manned only by the elected.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The death penalty was abolished in Hungary shortly after.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
These include lottery systems, abolishing sibling priority for those who move away and setting up priority zones.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The first and most important task of the new administrative system is to abolish the dictatorship of the producer and to overcome the deficits of our economy.
Aganbegyan, Abel Inside Perestroika: The Future of the Soviet Economy (1990)
I suggest the opposite: abolish the honours system altogether.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
When the death penalty was abolished we were promised that'life' would mean life imprisonment.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The death penalty has been abolished in Hong Kong.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Then in 1970 he formally abolished the Guards and the papal court.
Hebblethwaite, Peter Paul VI - The First Modern Pope (1993)
Inside View understands the game's world governing body will abolish the licence system for agents within weeks.
The Sun (2009)
Britain abolished the death penalty for murder in 1965 and phased it out for rarer crimes including piracy and high treason over the next 33 years.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
abolish
British English: abolish /əˈbɒlɪʃ/ VERB
If someone in authority abolishes a practice or organization, they put an end to it.
Parliament voted to abolish fox-hunting.
American English: abolish
Arabic: يُلْغِي
Brazilian Portuguese: abolir
Chinese: 废除
Croatian: ukinuti
Czech: zrušit
Danish: afskaffe
Dutch: afschaffen
European Spanish: abolir
Finnish: lakkauttaa kumota
French: abolir
German: abschaffen
Greek: καταργώ
Italian: abolire
Japanese: 廃止する
Korean: 폐지하다
Norwegian: avskaffe
Polish: obalić
European Portuguese: abolir
Romanian: a aboli
Russian: отменять
Latin American Spanish: abolir
Swedish: avskaffa
Thai: ยกเลิก
Turkish: yürürlükten kaldırmak
Ukrainian: скасовувати
Vietnamese: hủy bỏ
Chinese translation of 'abolish'
abolish
(əˈbɔlɪʃ)
vt
[system, practice]废(廢)止 (fèizhǐ)
(verb)
Definition
to do away with (laws, regulations, or customs)
They voted to abolish the death penalty.
Synonyms
do away with
end
Her life ended prematurely in a terrible accident.
destroy
They could destroy the enemy in days rather than weeks.
eliminate
The Act has not eliminated discrimination in employment.
shed
cancel
Her insurance had been cancelled by the company.
axe (informal)
get rid of
ditch (slang)
dissolve
junk (informal)
The socialists junked dogma when they came to office.
suppress
overturn
The Russian parliament overturned his decision.
throw out
discard
Read the instructions before discarding the box.
wipe out
overthrow
void
The Supreme Court voided his conviction for murder.
terminate
drop
trash (slang)
repeal
The government has just repealed that law.
eradicate
battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus
put an end to
quash
The Appeal Court has quashed the convictions.
extinguish
The message extinguished her hopes of seeing her friend any time soon.
dispense with
revoke
The government revoked his licence.
stamp out
obliterate
Whole villages were obliterated by the fire.
subvert
jettison
repudiate
They had repudiated her contract.
annihilate
The army was annihilated.
rescind
You will rescind that order immediately.
exterminate
A huge effort was made to exterminate the rats.
invalidate
An official decree invalidated the vote.
bring to an end
annul
The marriage was annulled last month.
nullify
He used his broad executive powers to nullify decisions by local government.
blot out
expunge (formal)
The experience was something he had tried to expunge from his memory.
abrogate (archaic)
The next prime minister could abrogate the treaty.
vitiate (archaic)
extirpate (archaic)
The Romans wished to extirpate Druidism in Britain.
kennet (Australian, slang)
jeff (Australian, slang)
Opposites
found
,
continue
,
create
,
establish
,
introduce
,
promote
,
institute
,
restore
,
sustain
,
revive
,
authorize
,
reinstate
,
legalize
,
reintroduce
Additional synonyms
in the sense of abrogate
Definition
to cancel (a law or an agreement) formally
The next prime minister could abrogate the treaty.
Synonyms
revoke,
end,
recall,
withdraw,
reverse,
cancel,
scrap (informal),
abolish,
set aside,
override,
void,
repeal,
renounce,
quash,
take back,
call back,
retract,
repudiate,
negate,
rescind,
invalidate,
annul,
nullify,
recant,
obviate,
disclaim,
countermand,
declare null and void
in the sense of annihilate
Definition
to destroy (a place or a group of people) completely