abolition

American  

[ab-uh-lish-uhn] / ˌæb əˈlɪʃ ən /

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:

   repeal, revocation, invalidation, nullification, elimination, eradication, annihilation

   Antonyms:

   establishment

2. the legal prohibition of slavery, especially the institutional enslavement of Black people in the U.S.

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abolition British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• abolitionary adjective
• abolitionism noun
• abolitionist noun
• nonabolition noun
• proabolition adjective

Etymology

Origin of abolition

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; see abolish, -ion

Explanation

Abolition is the act of getting rid of something, like the abolition of slavery. One of the greatest moments in the history of the United States was the abolition of slavery: when we ended slavery as an institution. That's a dramatic and important case, but abolition can refer to getting rid of any system, practice, or institution. Sports leagues would love to achieve the abolition of performance-enhancing drugs. Everyone would probably like to see the abolition of rats from all cities. When there's an abolition, something is abolished — it's gone.

Example Sentences

After starting anew, he spent his final decades there, dying in 1810 but living long enough to witness the British and American abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

The women, who are against secession and for abolition but are practiced in the art of deceiving their neighbors, are involved with the Underground Railroad in some way that’s not exactly clear.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

Seven of the county's local authorities had written to the government saying they wanted to postpone over concerns about going to the polls ahead of the potential abolition of some of them.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

Alinejad is one of the most prominent dissident campaigners against Iranian authorities and for years has pushed for the abolition of the obligatory headscarf in Iran under the banner of "MyStealthyFreedom."

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

While the women shared an interest in abolition, Anthony did not have much interest in women’s rights or suffrage.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Related Words

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