COUNTERMAND Synonyms: 164 Similar and Opposite Words

countermand 1 of 2

verb

Definition of countermand

as in to overturn

formal to cancel (an order) especially by giving a new order Orders to blow up the bridge were countermanded.

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countermand

2 of 2

noun

as in veto

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as in mandate

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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 countermand

Verb

Advertisement But the Secretary General cannot countermand the nations. — Mark Webber, Time, 24 July 2026 Another said Trump is countermanding the Pentagon, which had made a decision without presidential approval. — Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 July 2025 Trump’s Achilles’ heel, where his policies may yet be countermanded by the judicial branch, are his arbitrary tariffs, having their root in a delegation as broad as that for FDR’s National Recovery Administration. — George Liebmann, Baltimore Sun, 2 July 2025 What remains will be countermanded at the next change in power, the countermander then adding his or her new round of decrees, and on and on. — Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 30 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for countermand

Recent Examples of Synonyms for countermand

Verb

Walker’s Harley-Davidson struck the deer near Beaverdam Road, overturned, skidded crossed the center line and ran off the road, Freeman said.

— Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 28 Sep. 2026
Stepping in for an absentee Congress, Democratic attorneys general are ready to fight efforts to undermine or overturn the midterm balloting.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of overturn

Noun

Gabriel’s Law passes after long fight by Lackey Newsom’s weekend of bill signings and vetoes was far from pure bad news for Lackey, however.

— Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2026
The reforms center on breaking veto-heavy decision deadlocks, bringing poorer economies into global supply chains, cracking down on unfair state subsidies and rewriting outdated 20th-century trade rules.

— Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of veto

Noun

Areas at high risk of flooding and where few people are insured tend to be poorer, experts said, as are areas where FEMA's flood maps don't properly convey the severity of the risk or mandate that enough people buy coverage.

— MICHAEL PHILLIS, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
Traffic has increased following the implementation of the return-to-office mandate, said 50 Corridor TMA in an Eventbrite post on the fair.

— Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of mandate

Verb

Grande’s character was killed off in the first season, and the series was canceled after two seasons.

— Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 24 Sep. 2026
But the show was on the air for only eight months before it was canceled earlier this year; the station cited difficulty selling ads.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of cancel

Noun

This veto override scenario would require a special session be called because the legislative session has ended, and the Legislature has 60 days from Newsom’s veto to override it.

— Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026
In 2017, Alabama abolished judicial override and stopped allowing judges to change juries' sentencing decision in capital cases.

— CBS News, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of override

Noun

Most of those steps have been blocked by various courts, in part because the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to set election rules, but provides no such power to the president.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026
The legislation would bring a standardized set of federal rules governing collegiate athletics.

— Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of rule

Verb

In 2021, Cruz sought to revoke Major League Baseball’s century-old antitrust immunity after the MLB decided to move its All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to a new Georgia voting law civil rights groups had criticized as restrictive.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026
And in 2018 the administration revoked the credentials of CNN’s Jim Acosta, who successfully challenged his exclusion in court, a sequence that was repeated this week.

— Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of revoke

Noun

The appropriate remedy is congressional overruling of the Marquette case so as to allow the states to regulate loans to their own citizens.

— George Liebmann, Baltimore Sun, 11 Apr. 2026
In recent years, the court’s conservative majority overruling of major, longstanding precedents has become a defining feature of Roberts’ tenure.

— Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2025

Definition of overruling

Cite this Entry

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“Countermand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/countermand. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of countermand

verb

noun

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