Dictionary Definition
abolish v : do away with; "Slavery was abolished
in the mid-19th century in America and in Russia" [syn: get rid of]
[ant: establish]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- (RP) /əˈbɒlɪʃ/
- ə-bŏl'ĭsh, /@"bQlIS/
- ə'bolish
Verb
- To do away with wholly; to annul; to make void; to
end a law, system, custom or institution
- Slavery was abolished in the nineteenth century.
- To put an end to or
destroy, as a physical
object; to wipe out.
- And with thy blood abolish so reproachful blot. - Spenser
- His quick instinctive hand Caught at the hilt, as to abolish him. - Tennyson
- And with thy blood abolish so reproachful blot. - Spenser
Related terms
Translations
to do away with something
- Chinese: 为了废止
- Dutch: afschaffen
- Esperanto: abolicii, forigi
- Estonian: tühistama, kaotama
- Finnish: lakkauttaa, lopettaa
- French: abolir, supprimer
- German: abschaffen
- GreeK: καταργώ, καταλύω
- Hebrew: לבטל (levatel)
- Interlingua: abolir
- Italian: abolire
- Japanese: 廃止する (haishi suru)
- Norwegian: avskaffe, forkaste
- Novial: aboli
- Portuguese: abolir
- Russian: отменить
- Slovak: zrušiť
- Spanish: abolir
- Swedish: överge, förkasta
- Thai: เลิก (lêrk), ยกเลิก (yok-lêrk), ยุบเลิก (yoob-lêrk)
- Ukrainian: знечинити, скасувати
- Volapük: säkibön, finidön
to destroy
- Dutch: vernietigen
- French: détruire
- German: vernichten
- Hebrew: להרוס (laharos)
- Spanish: destrozar
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Translations to be checked
- ttbc Vietnamese: thủ tiêu, bãi bỏ, huỷ bỏ
Extensive Definition
Abolish is the act of formally repealing an existing practice
legal means, either by making it illegal, or simply no longer
allowing it to exist in any form.
Famous things that have been abolished include:
- slavery; see Abolitionism
- the Soviet Union
- alcohol; see Prohibition
- numerous monarchies
Issue that are topics of debate over their
possible abolition include:
- suffering; see also: Abolitionism (bioethics)
- the death penalty
- deportations
- aging
- imprisonment
- speciesism
- abortion
- firearms ownership and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
- religion
- Age of Consent
- nationalism
- government
- the legal status of animals as property; see Abolitionism (animal rights)
A common and usually uncontroversial act of
abolition is the abolition of electoral districts during
redistricting.
abolish in French: Abolition
abolish in Dutch: Abolitionisme
abolish in Portuguese: Abolição
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
abate,
abrogate, annihilate, annul, blot out, bring to naught,
cancel, countermand, counterorder, delete, demolish, deracinate, destroy, disallow, disannul, do away with,
eliminate, end, eradicate, erase, expunge, exterminate, extinguish, extirpate, invalidate, liquidate, make void, negate, negative, nullify, obliterate, override, overrule, quash, recall, recant, renege, repeal, rescind, retract, reverse, revoke, root out, set aside,
stamp out, suspend,
terminate, undo, uproot, vacate, vitiate, void, waive, wipe out, withdraw, write
off