# abolish

Pronunciation: say "uh-BOL-ish" US /əˈbɑl.ɪʃ/, UK /əˈbɒlɪʃ/

## Verb

1. To formally put an end to a law, system, institution, custom, or practice.
   - Simple: To officially end a law, rule, or system so it no longer exists.
   - _Reformers campaigned for decades to abolish slavery across the empire._
   - _The legislature abolished the outdated licensing system last spring._

## Verb

2. To put an end to or destroy something physical; to wipe it out entirely. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To completely destroy a physical thing or wipe it out so nothing is left.
   - _The rising waters threatened to abolish the crops and the cottages alike._
   - _Within hours the blaze had abolished the entire row of warehouses._

## Origin

It comes via late Middle English abolisshen and Middle French abolir, from Latin abolēre ("to check the growth of, and by extension destroy or abolish"), related to the inchoative abolēscere ("to wither, vanish, cease").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/abolish (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).