ABOLISH

abolish, get rid of

(verb) do away with; “Slavery was abolished in the mid-19th century in America and in Russia”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

abolish (third-person singular simple present abolishes, present participle abolishing, simple past and past participle (obsolete) abolisht or abolished)

To end a law, system, institution, custom or practice. [First attested from around 1350 to 1470.]

(archaic) To put an end to or destroy, as a physical object; to wipe out. [First attested from around 1350 to 1470.]

Synonyms

• (to end a law, system, institution, custom or practice): abrogate, annul, cancel, dissolve, nullify, repeal, revoke

Antonyms

• (to end a law, system, institution, custom or practice): establish, found

Source: Wiktionary


A*bol"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abolished; p. pr. & vb. n. Abolishing.] Etym: [F. abolir, L. abolere, aboletum; ab + olere to grow. Cf. Finish.]

1. To do away with wholly; to annul; to make void; -- said of laws, customs, institutions, governments, etc.; as, to abolish slavery, to abolish folly.

2. To put an end to, or destroy, as a physical objects; to wipe out. [Archaic] And with thy blood abolish so reproachful blot. Spenser. His quick instinctive hand Caught at the hilt, as to abolish him. Tennyson.

Syn.

– To Abolish, Repeal, Abrogate, Revoke, Annul, Nullify, Cancel. These words have in common the idea of setting aside by some overruling act. Abolish applies particularly to things of a permanent nature, such as institutions, usages, customs, etc.; as, to abolish monopolies, serfdom, slavery. Repeal describes the act by which the legislature of a state sets aside a law which it had previously enacted. Abrogate was originally applied to the repeal of a law by the Roman people; and hence, when the power of making laws was usurped by the emperors, the term was applied to their act of setting aside the laws. Thus it came to express that act by which a sovereign or an executive government sets aside laws, ordinances, regulations, treaties, conventions, etc. Revoke denotes the act or recalling some previous grant which conferred, privilege, etc.; as, to revoke a decree, to revoke a power of attorney, a promise, etc. Thus, also, we speak of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Annul is used in a more general sense, denoting simply to make void; as, to annul a contract, to annul an agreement. Nullify is an old word revived in this country, and applied to the setting of things aside either by force or by total disregard; as, to nullify an act of Congress. Cancel is to strike out or annul, by a deliberate exercise of power, something which has operative force.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

25 April 2024

TYPIFY

(verb) embody the essential characteristics of or be a typical example of; “The fugue typifies Bach’s style of composition”


Do you know this game?

Wordscapes

Wordscapes is a popular word game consistently in the top charts of both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The Android version has more than 10 million installs. This guide will help you get more coins in less than two minutes of playing the game. Continue reading Wordscapes: Get More Coins