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to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it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
France is under rare ‘red alert’ heat warnings, with temperatures over 100 degrees forcing restrictions on public drinking, canceled trains and concerts, and hundreds of schools closed amid safety fears.
—
Angela Charlton,
Los Angeles Times,
21 June 2026
Nine other airlines delayed between one and five flights, and United canceled all seven flights.
—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
21 June 2026
Spain's Basque Country canceled some sports and cultural events.
—
CBS News,
21 June 2026
Less than a week later, Stewart canceled four shows and postponed two more in Nevada and California that were scheduled as part of his One Last Time Tour.
—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
21 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for cancel
Angela Charlton,
Los Angeles Times,
21 June 2026
Nine other airlines delayed between one and five flights, and United canceled all seven flights.
—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
21 June 2026
Spain's Basque Country canceled some sports and cultural events.
—
CBS News,
21 June 2026
Less than a week later, Stewart canceled four shows and postponed two more in Nevada and California that were scheduled as part of his One Last Time Tour.
—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
21 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for cancel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cancel
Verb
-
With a lockout coming, fans who lack trust in the organization could abandon their fandom completely.
-
After her father abandoned the family, her mother moved Blyth and her sister to New York City.
Verb
-
Avila Chevalier survived a deluge of attacks for previous social media posts that called for abolishing the police and prisons.
-
Earlier this month, the bloc also released more information about its own plans for abolishing its de minimis exemption on June 30.
Verb
-
After coming under fire for publicly berating a TV journalist on social media, Paget Brewster has deleted the damning post and apologized.
-
And even though Citi Bike’s age verification system has multiple components that could be used even without biometric screening and with quickly deleting any data collected, that didn’t matter.
Verb
-
By the time the boundary issues were partially corrected in the 1960s, both the cemetery and the surrounding Black community had been largely erased from public memory.
-
Still, state environmental officials and weather experts say the rainfall deficits dating back to last fall have not been completely erased.
Verb
-
Valentin, whose license was already revoked in New York at the time, fled the scene to New Jersey.
-
Iran's training base was relocated from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, and the team's ticket allocation was revoked days before the tournament began.
Verb
-
More recent land news Republicans have introduced an amendment to a federal wildfire bill that would repeal the 2001 Roadless Rule protecting certain national forest lands from logging and roadbuilding, reports Brooke Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune.
-
The measure repeals provisions in Finland’s 1987 Nuclear Energy Act that banned the import, production, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives.
Verb
-
Incomplete or inappropriate antibiotic courses amplify this effect by exposing bacteria to sub-therapeutic drug concentrations without eradicating them.
-
Building new sterile fly production facilities in the Southwest helped eradicate the flies in that region too, and by 1966, the US was declared officially screwworm-free.
Verb
-
The crew coordinated with air traffic control and performed a go-around, which involves aborting a landing attempt and climbing away from the runway, to avoid an American Airlines plane that was departing from an intersecting runway, The Guardian reported.
-
The Delta pilots saw what was happening and were able to abort the landing and pull up in time to avoid hitting the American plane.
Cite this Entry
“Cancel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cancel. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
