annul

verb

an·​nul ə-ˈnəl How to pronounce annul (audio)
annulled; annulling

transitive verb

1
: to declare or make legally invalid or void
wants the marriage annulled
His title to the estate was annulled.
2
: to reduce to nothing : obliterate
3
: to make ineffective or inoperative : neutralize
annul a drug's effect
Choose the Right Synonym for annul

nullify, negate, annul, abrogate, invalidate mean to deprive of effective or continued existence.

nullify implies counteracting completely the force, effectiveness, or value of something.

a penalty nullified the touchdown

negate implies the destruction or canceling out of each of two things by the other.

the arguments negate each other

annul suggests making ineffective or nonexistent often by legal or official action.

the treaty annuls all previous agreements

abrogate is like annul but more definitely implies a legal or official act.

a law to abrogate trading privileges

invalidate implies making something powerless or unacceptable by declaration of its logical or moral or legal unsoundness.

the court invalidated the statute

Examples of annul in a Sentence

unfortunately, his arrogant attitude annuls the many generous favors he does for people plans to annul their short-lived, ill-advised marriage
Recent Examples on the Web But the Court of Appeals annulled the decision and ordered the lower court to repeat the process. Predrag Milic, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 Justice Gilmar Mendes annulled a Rio de Janeiro court ruling dated Dec. 7 that removed Ednaldo Rodrigues and all his executives from their jobs at the confederation, known as the CBF, because of irregularities in the 2022 election process. Mauricio Savarese, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2024 Late last week, the Delaware State Board of Nursing annulled the licenses of 26 people working as nurses after obtaining allegedly fake degrees. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2023 In late 2018, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a series of rulings annulling the pipeline’s access to federal land and striking down a key permit. Katie Myers, WIRED, 20 Jan. 2024 Since then, the pardon has been repeatedly annulled or suspended by lower courts after pressure from the Inter-American Court and victims’ families. Marco Aquino, Sarah Morland, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Dec. 2023 In 2019, the Malawian Supreme Court followed Kenya’s lead, annulling President Peter Mutharika’s electoral win after the opposition party complained that the race had been marred by irregularities. Comfort Ero, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023 The Constitution requires Senate consent to ratify a treaty but omits procedures to annul one. Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2023 In Dallas and Austin, ordinances requiring construction workers to take 10-minute breaks every four hours due to the heat will now be annulled. Solcyre Burga, Time, 18 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'annul.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English annullen, from Anglo-French annuller, from Late Latin annullare, from Latin ad- + nullus not any — more at null

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of annul was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near annul

Cite this Entry

“Annul.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/annul. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

annul

verb
an·​nul ə-ˈnəl How to pronounce annul (audio)
annulled; annulling
1
: to make ineffective : neutralize
2
: to bring to an end legally
annul a marriage
annulment
ə-ˈnəl-mənt
noun

Legal Definition

annul

transitive verb
an·​nul ə-ˈnəl How to pronounce annul (audio)
annulled; annulling
1
: to declare (a marriage) to have never validly existed compare divorce
2
a
: to make legally void
b
: to declare to no longer have legal effect

More from Merriam-Webster on annul

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