abolition

/ˌæb.əˈlɪʃ.ən/

//ˌæb.əˈlɪʃ.ən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abolition" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abolition” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,684. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,684
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of abolishing; an annulling; abrogation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abolition · abolition · English

abolition · rank #14,684 · 13 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,684
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abandoning

Nearest frequency peer: abandoning (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “abolition”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “abolition” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

abolition vs abortion
78% similar
abolition vs absolution
80% similar
abolition vs ablation
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for abolition
PropertyValue
Headwordabolition
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌæb.əˈlɪʃ.ən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#14,684
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abolition”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abolitionlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “abandoning” (#14,683), “accessibility” (#14,685), “acquainted” (#14,686). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abolition” is #14,684. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around abolition (IPA /ˌæb.əˈlɪʃ.ən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,684 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for abolition, with forms such as "abbolition", "abloition", and "aboiltion". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "abortion", "absolution", "ablation", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1529. Either from Middle French abolition, or directly from Latin abolitiō, from aboleō (“destroy”). Compare French abolition. Equivalent to abolish + -tion. The correct English form is abolition, spelled A-B-O-L-I-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of abolishing; an annulling; abrogation.
  2. 2
    The state of being abolished.
  3. 3
    The ending of the slave trade or of slavery.
  4. 4
    The ending of convict transportation.
  5. 5
    An amnesty; a putting out of memory.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abolition appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. the abolition of debts; the abolition of laws; the abolition of slavery; the abolition of police; the abolition of taxes
  2. The campaign for the abolition of slavery changed the course of history.

Etymology

First attested in 1529. Either from Middle French abolition, or directly from Latin abolitiō, from aboleō (“destroy”). Compare French abolition. Equivalent to abolish + -tion.

This word in other languages

abolición(Español)abolition(Français)Abschaffung(Deutsch)abolição(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbolition
  • abloition
  • aboiltion
  • aboliiton
  • abolision
  • abolitino
  • abolitionn
  • abolitoin
  • abolittion
  • abollition
  • aboltiion
  • aoblition
  • baolition

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abolition - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

abbolition1abloition2aboiltion2aboliiton2abolision1abolitino2abolitionn1abolitoin2
Edit distance from "abolition"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abolition"?
"abolition" is spelled A-B-O-L-I-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæb.əˈlɪʃ.ən/.
What does "abolition" mean?
As a noun, "abolition" means: The act of abolishing; an annulling; abrogation.
What words are commonly confused with "abolition"?
"abolition" is commonly confused with "abortion", "absolution", "ablation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "abolition"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abolition" is /ˌæb.əˈlɪʃ.ən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abolition"?
First attested in 1529. Either from Middle French abolition, or directly from Latin abolitiō, from aboleō (“destroy”). Compare French abolition. Equivalent to abolish + -tion. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abolition", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Zimmerman#14,676Augustine#14,697Berkshire#14,703coastline#14,720

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

wrestler13 variantsauditorium13 variantsbrethren13 variantsthanking13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list