1
as in to abandon
to put an end to (something planned or previously agreed to)
please call to cancel your appointment with the dentist if you can't make it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to abolish
to put an end to by formal action
the agreement can be canceled by either side with a formal written notice
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to delete
to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it
canceled the check and wrote a new one
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in to erase
to destroy all traces of
it seemed as though all honor and decency had been canceled by the war's new moral order
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 cancel
Both airlines are allowing travelers to change or cancel affected trips without penalty.
—
Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Eight flights have been canceled at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Saturday.
—Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer, 8 Nov. 2025
An announcement canceling the tour came about 12 hours after his release from jail.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Nov. 2025
Ariana Grande was forced to cancel her appearance at Brazil’s world premiere of Wicked: For Good due to flight delays.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cancel
Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Eight flights have been canceled at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Saturday.
—Gillian Stawiszynski, Cincinnati Enquirer, 8 Nov. 2025
An announcement canceling the tour came about 12 hours after his release from jail.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Nov. 2025
Ariana Grande was forced to cancel her appearance at Brazil’s world premiere of Wicked: For Good due to flight delays.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cancel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cancel
Verb
-
The Miami Hurricanes are at home, while the entire state of Indiana – save for some in West Lafayette – is content to abandon their homes to enjoy this unexpectedly stupefying playoff march.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Season One concludes with the Texas Tech geology graduate abandoning a well crew after tragedy strikes, only to achieve rapid success in his personal and work endeavors.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The FairTax Act of 2025 was the latest bid to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace income tax and other levies with a national sales tax.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Jan. 2026
-
During his campaign, Mamdani pledged to keep the NYPD’s headcount flat, abolish the department’s controversial Strategic Response Group and get rid of its gang database — all proposals opposed by Tisch, who supports hiring more cops.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kardashian actually deleted an earlier version of the post but then put it back up.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Baldoni's lawyers later claimed in a letter to Judge Lewis Liman that Lively previously requested for Swift to delete the women's text messages.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
After an incredible 20 minutes last weekend that saw the Broncos erase a 24-point deficit at San Diego State to tie the game 79-79 in the final seconds, Andrews found the ball in his hands on the final possession of the game.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Jan. 2026
-
These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
While multiple sources familiar with the holiday events deny online rumors that Mar-a-Lago threatened to revoke the memberships of guests who took photos of Barron over the holidays, insiders tell PEOPLE that there's an unspoken rule about how to treat the most private member of the first family.—
Linda Marx,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Colbert was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Orleans Parish in May, after a judge revoked her probation in a similar but unrelated case.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In 2020, voters repealed the Gallagher Amendment in the state constitution, which locked in a certain ratio of residential to commercial property taxes that provided extra security for homeowners against sudden increases.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
6 Jan. 2026
-
But a further threat to its revenue comes by way of a possible ballot measure to repeal the trash pickup fee assessed last year on single-family homes that is being considered by the conservative-leaning Lincoln Club and others.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Spider mites create webs and can be eradicated with miticide spray.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Just last week, a professor who taught at Harvard for 40 years slammed the school for its ideological homogeneity after finishing his last semester, saying that graduate programs were denying White male applicants on racial grounds and that Western civilization courses were being eradicated.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Her behavior led to the pilots aborting takeoff.—
Marina Watts,
PEOPLE,
2 Jan. 2026
-
The Dating Game, directed by Violet Du Feng, shows us the struggle of young men to find spouses in a country where males outnumber females by a large margin (a result of China’s one-child policy, which saw many female offspring aborted or abandoned in favor of male children).—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
29 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cancel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cancel. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share