Lexic.us

Definition of Abolish

1. Verb. Do away with. "Slavery was abolished in the mid-19th century in America and in Russia"

Definition of Abolish

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

Definition of Abolish

1. Verb. To do away with wholly; to annul; to make void; to end a law, system, custom or institution ¹

2. Verb. (archaic) To put an end to or destroy, as a physical object; to wipe out. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Abolish

1. to do away with [v -ED, -ING, -ES]

Medical Definition of Abolish

1. 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. "And with thy blood abolish so reproachful blot." (Spenser) "His quick instinctive hand Caught at the hilt, as to abolish him." (Tennyson) Synonym: 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. Origin: F. Abolir, L. Abolere, aboletum; ab + olere to grow. Cf. Finish. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Abolish

Literary usage of Abolish

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. South Eastern Reporter by West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Publishing Company, South Carolina Supreme Court (1920)
"It may abolish one class of courts and create another. ... And it may abolish old remedies and substitute new; or even without substituting any, ..."

2. The Life of Thomas Jefferson by Henry Stephens Randall (1858)
"... and their Fate— Bill to abolish Entails—Effect of this on Virginia ... Seat of Government—That to abolish Entails passed—Bill for a General Revision of ..."

3. History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate, 1649-1656 by Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1903)
"»T , another effort to win over Parliament to the paths of win over moderation. A short time before, on November 17, Parliament. .....,_.. .. to abolish r ..."

4. History of the Antislavery Measures of the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth by Henry Wilson (1864)
"THE BILL TO abolish SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ... SUPPLEMENTARY BILL TO abolish SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. — MR. SUMNER'S AMENDMENT. MR. ..."

5. Life and Works of Abraham Lincoln by Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay Whitney (1907)
"Message to Congress Enclosing Draft of Bill to Compensate States that abolish Slavery. JULY 14, 1862. Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of ..."

6. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1910)
"he writes as though I had proposed to abolish altogether names for species. He illustrates by an eleven-place numeral in three divisions, ..."

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