Synonym Chooser

How does the verb abrogate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of abrogate are annul, invalidate, negate, and nullify. While all these words mean "to deprive of effective or continued existence," abrogate is like annul but more definitely implies a legal or official act.

a law to abrogate trading privileges

When is it sensible to use annul instead of abrogate?

The words annul and abrogate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, annul suggests making ineffective or nonexistent often by legal or official action.

the treaty annuls all previous agreements

When could invalidate be used to replace abrogate?

The synonyms invalidate and abrogate are sometimes interchangeable, but invalidate implies making something powerless or unacceptable by declaration of its logical or moral or legal unsoundness.

the court invalidated the statute

When might negate be a better fit than abrogate?

While the synonyms negate and abrogate are close in meaning, negate implies the destruction or canceling out of each of two things by the other.

the arguments negate each other

In what contexts can nullify take the place of abrogate?

Although the words nullify and abrogate have much in common, nullify implies counteracting completely the force, effectiveness, or value of something.

a penalty nullified the touchdown

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abrogate The launch arrangement between Northrop and SpaceX abrogates NASA's preference to maintain two independent means of delivering supplies to the space station. Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 15 Sep. 2025 Again, Congress willingly abrogates its oversight responsibilities and defers to the widening of Trump’s executive power and erosion of a regulatory system that has increasingly become merely perfunctory. Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025 Philp neglects to mention that AB 942 would abrogate the contract conditions that the state of California made with consumers. U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2025 Even with the resurrection of arms control agreements now being abrogated or dismantled, there is reason to doubt that strategic stability, at least as understood in the old paradigm, could be reestablished or preserved. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Foreign Affairs, 21 July 2020 See All Example Sentences for abrogate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abrogate
Verb
  • That uneven use of the death penalty is one of the reasons advocates want to abolish it.
    Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Additionally, individual states can’t decide to abolish the practice without Congressional approval.
    Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Northwest Passage Act, which offered a reward to any Briton who could chart a shipping route through Arctic Canada to Asia, had been repealed in 1818.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
  • In 2023, Phoenix-area utility Salt River Project invested $280 million in the installation as part of its progress toward a 15% renewable energy standard that, in 2025, state utility commissioners voted to repeal.
    Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Barca and Madrid reactions to the Miami game being cancelled was certainly divergent, and there will be lingering tension in the Bernabeu’s VIP areas on Sunday.
    Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The principal didn’t immediately realize the alert had been canceled, a spokesperson for Baltimore County Public Schools told WBAL.
    Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Abrogate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abrogate. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on abrogate

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