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abolition

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

9 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "abolition", 9-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "abolition" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "abolition" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

abolition is aEnglishnoun. It means: The act of abolishing; an annulling; abrogation. Pronounced /ˌæb.əˈlɪʃ.ən/. Often confused with abortion and absolution.

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 rank visualization

Position of abolition in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for abolition is 9 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌæb.əˈlɪʃ.ən/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,684 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 13 documented wrong-spelling variants for abolition, with forms such as "abbolition", "abloition", and "aboiltion". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "abortion", "absolution", "ablation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

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. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is abolition, spelled A-B-O-L-I-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

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.

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

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: abbolition,abloition,aboiltion,aboliiton,abolision,abolitino,abolitionn,abolitoin,abolittion,abollition,aboltiion,aoblition,baolition

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for abolition

Misspelling Variants of "abolition"

abbolition10abloition9aboiltion9aboliiton9abolision9abolitino9abolitionn10abolitoin9
Misspelling Variants of "abolition"

Frequency rank: #14,684 in English

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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.