Rescind and the lesser-known words exscind and prescind all come from the Latin verb scindere, which means “to split, cleave, separate.” Rescind was adapted from its Latin predecessor rescindere in the 16th century, and prescind (from praescindere) and exscind (from exscindere) followed in the next century. Exscind means “to cut off” or “to excise,” and prescind means “to withdraw one’s attention,” but of the three borrowings, only rescind established itself as a common English term. Today, rescind is most often heard in contexts having to do with the withdrawal of an offer, award, or privilege, or with invalidation of a law or policy.
The enemies these efforts made for him concocted charges of disloyalty, and following a hearing before the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954, Oppenheimer's security clearance was rescinded.—Kai Bird et al., Smithsonian, Aug. 2005But Maria convinced Leverich that she had the authority to rescind the executor's decision to appoint him as biographer.—John Lahr, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 1994The Navy barred its personnel from his church, but he challenged the decree in federal court as a constitutional violation of freedom of religion. Eventually, the Navy rescinded its ban.—Randall Samborn, National Law Journal, 14 Jan. 1991
The navy rescinded its ban on women sailors.
The company later rescinded its offer.
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That figure includes $4 billion that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rescinded in July.—Alan Ohnsman, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025 The Senate’s bill stalled in the House in 2024, as Republicans debated over what would come next if the AUMFs were rescinded.—Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2025 This morning Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the agency’s proposal to rescind the 2024 Public Lands Rule that was intended to broaden the BLM’s ability to manage landscapes and enter into leases for reasons other than resource extraction.—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2025 The Observer, Notre Dame's student newspaper, reported that an invitation to Eman Abdelhadi, a University of Chicago professor and grassroots organizer, to speak about pro-Palestine organizing was rescinded, citing the event's inability to adhere to the university safety policy.—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 9 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rescind
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French rescinder "to reduce, cut, cancel, break (a contract)," borrowed from Latin rescindere "to remove or lay bare by hewing and cutting, cut or tear open, cancel, annul," from re-re- + scindere "to split, cleave, separate" — more at shed entry 1
: to abrogate (a contract or transaction) by mutual agreement, judicial decree, or unilateral declaration because of fraud, mistake, duress, misrepresentation, illegality, a breach, or another sufficient ground with both parties restored to their positions before the contract was made compare cancel, terminate
3
: to make void by the same or by a superior authority
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