abolitionist

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A person, especially in the nineteenth century, who campaigned publicly to end slavery.

   Grammar: Takes a plural, abolitionists; usually historical when used without further context.

   Patterns

   • a leading abolitionist
   • an abolitionist of something
   • abolitionists campaigned for something

   Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist who spoke and wrote against slavery.

   The abolitionists organized meetings, petitions, and boycotts to change public opinion.

2. 2nouncountable

   A person who campaigns today to end a particular practice, punishment, or institution.

   Grammar: Countable, like the historical sense; the target is usually stated or clear from context, e.g. death penalty abolitionists.

   Patterns

   • a death penalty abolitionist
   • an abolitionist of something

   Abolitionists argue that the death penalty should be ended everywhere.

   As an abolitionist of the practice, she spoke at conferences about animal testing.

3. 3adjectivebefore a noun

   Relating to or supporting the campaign to end slavery or another practice.

   Grammar: Only used directly before a noun: abolitionist newspapers; not said to be 'very abolitionist'.

   Patterns

   • abolitionist movement
   • abolitionist campaign
   • abolitionist newspapers

   She studied abolitionist pamphlets from the 1850s.

   The abolitionist movement gained strength after the publication of the book.

Word forms

Common combinations

a leading abolitionist

The museum displays letters from a leading abolitionist of the period.

abolitionist movement

The lecture traced the growth of the abolitionist movement across the North.

abolitionist campaign

An abolitionist campaign collected thousands of signatures in one month.

a committed abolitionist

Her grandfather was a committed abolitionist who hid the practice's victims.

Synonyms and how they differ

campaigner

Campaigner is broader: a campaigner can fight for or against anything, while an abolitionist specifically wants a practice ended.

activist

Activist covers anyone taking public action for a cause; abolitionist is narrower and always tied to ending a practice.

reformer

A reformer wants to improve a system, whereas an abolitionist wants to get rid of it completely.

Word family

abolition noun

The official ending of a system, practice, or law.

abolish verb

To officially end a law, system, or practice.

abolitionism noun

The belief in or movement for ending a practice such as slavery.

Commonly confused: abolitionist or abolition?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “abolitionist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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