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abolish

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abolish


  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Abolish  \A*bol"ish\,  v.  t.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Abolished};  p.  pr  & 
  vb  n.  {Abolishing}.]  [F.  abolir  L.  abolere  aboletum  ab  + 
  olere  to  grow.  Cf  {Finish}.] 
  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  [Archaic] 
 
  And  with  thy  blood  abolish  so  reproachful  blot. 
  --Spenser. 
 
  His  quick  instinctive  hand  Caught  at  the  hilt,  as  to 
  abolish  him  --Tennyson. 
 
  Syn:  To  {Abolish},  {Repeal},  {Abrogate},  {Revoke},  {Annul}, 
  {Nullify},  {Cancel}. 
 
  Usage:  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  of  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. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  abolish 
  v  :  do  away  with  "Slavery  was  abolished  in  the  mid-19th  century 
  in  America  and  in  Russia"  [syn:  {get  rid  of}]  [ant:  {establish}] 




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