abolishing

verb

present participle of abolish
1
as in repealing
to put an end to by formal action the U.S. abolished slavery by constitutional amendment on December 6, 1865

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in eradicating
to destroy all traces of if only there were a way that we could abolish hatred and intolerance

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abolishing Other New York literati, like Camille Paglia, expressed similar views and endorsed the organization’s goal of abolishing the age of consent. — Jack Denton, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026 Yet abolishing Greek life altogether is far from an easy proposition. — Brittany Shammas, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 The administration initially talked about abolishing the agency, arguing that states and communities could deal with disasters on their own. — Dana R. Fisher, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026 The Sox went all-in on analytics this postseason, abolishing pitching roles and starting from scratch. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026 The vice president also blasted Nixon, who is in an uphill race to defeat Moody, for supporting defunding the police and abolishing prisons. — Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026 Coleman later joins forces with HopesAndDrums for a house mix that calls for abolishing ICE. — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026 Now, Xi remains in office after purging political rivals, abolishing presidential term limits and consolidating power. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026 Other positions of the Democratic Socialists of America party that have come under fire in the 2026 election cycle have included abolishing the Senate, closing prisons, and having corporations become owned by the government. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abolishing
  1. repealing
  2. eradicating
  3. canceling
  4. erasing
  5. destroying
Verb
  • The lawmakers argued that repealing the credits while major projects were still under construction would jeopardize investments already underway and the jobs tied to them.
    — Kayla Morton, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The Trades Council endorsed the campaign for repealing the law, according to Ballotpedia, while Schmidt spent heavily to defend it.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of repealing
Verb
  • The Beijing propaganda machine has been busy eradicating the truth about the Tiananmen Square Massacre for nearly forty years.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
  • But somehow, in the midst of all this frat-boy revelry, Ilya is able to outline his vision for the future, one in which AI will have solved numerous human problems, including eradicating not only cancer but also loneliness and unhappiness.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of eradicating
Verb
  • No one could’ve blamed the grieving community for canceling the game.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Hours earlier, the 77-year-old wrestling Hall of Famer apologized on social media site X for canceling a weekend appearance at the Washington State Horror Con in Puyallup.
    — Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of canceling
Verb
  • Cincinnati kept pouring it on after erasing the 13-0 deficit.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
  • In the bottom of the sixth, Sal Frelick led off the inning with a lefty-on-lefty solo homer off Ian Seymour in a nine-pitch at-bat, completely erasing the deficit.
    — Ryan Morik OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of erasing
Verb
  • After destroying much of Gaza and killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, Israel has regained military control of nearly 70 percent of the strip.
    — Dalia Dassa Kaye, Foreign Affairs, 27 Oct. 2026
  • But if firms lean on AI to cut lower-level work, the risk is destroying the very avenue of apprenticeship that produces future senior associates and managers.
    — Tim Brackney, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroying

Browse Nearby Words

abolishes
abolishing
abolishment
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Abolishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abolishing. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All