ABOLITION

abolition, abolishment

(noun) the act of abolishing a system or practice or institution (especially abolishing slavery); “the abolition of capital punishment”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

abolition (plural abolitions)

The act of abolishing; an annulling; abrogation [First attested around the early 16th century.]

The state of being abolished

(historical, often capitalised, UK, US) The ending of the slave trade or of slavery. [First attested around the early 18th century.]

(historical, often capitalised, Australia) The ending of convict transportation. [First attested around the late 18th century.]

(obsolete) An amnesty; a putting out of memory. [Attested from the early 17th century to the early 19th century.]

Usage notes

The sense "amnesty", and in general any reference to "abolition of" a person, is now obsolete or unusual.

Antonyms

• (act of abolishing): establishment, foundation

Source: Wiktionary


Ab"o*li"tion, n. Etym: [L. abolitio, fr. abolere: cf. F. abolition. See Abolish.]

Definition: The act of abolishing, or the state of being abolished; an annulling; abrogation; utter destruction; as, the abolition of slavery or the slave trade; the abolition of laws, decrees, ordinances, customs, taxes, debts, etc.

Note: The application of this word to persons is now unusual or obsolete

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

4 April 2025

GUILLOTINE

(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”


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