MEANING
To formally end a law, institution, or established practice.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- abolish a restriction
- abolish a system
On the page
The reform abolished the hereditary qualification for office.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- abolish
- Past tense
- abolished
- Past participle
- abolished
- Present participle
- abolishing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- abolish
- Present continuous
- am/is/are abolishing
- Present perfect
- have/has abolished
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been abolishing
- Past
- abolished
- Past continuous
- was/were abolishing
- Past perfect
- had abolished
- Past perfect continuous
- had been abolishing
- Future
- will abolish
- Future continuous
- will be abolishing
- Future perfect
- will have abolished
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been abolishing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: abolish; abolishes; abolished; abolished; abolishing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, explanation. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: abolishes.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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