1
as in canceling
to put an end to (something planned or previously agreed to)
the company called the furniture store to repeal the order for six new desks
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abolishing
to put an end to by formal action
in 1933, Congress passed the 21st Amendment which repealed the Prohibition Amendment of 1919, thus making the sale, distribution, and use of alcohol legal once again
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in renouncing
to solemnly or formally reject or go back on (as something formerly adhered to)
if I find that you have been lying about this, I'll instantly repeal every promise I made to you
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Recent Examples of repealing
Instead of repealing the climate scam mandates that are causing exploding energy costs, @MassGovernor is using tax dollars to artificially Band-Aid bills for a couple of months – money which was received through the utility companies (ratepayers) due to mandates!
—
Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
The changes include repealing a prohibition from constructing or operating a nuclear facility without an IDEM permit and repealing the authorization for the commissioner to conduct a public hearing on environmental effects.
—Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
Cumulative retreat Rather than repealing civil rights statutes outright, the administration has focused on disabling the mechanisms that make those laws work.
—Spencer Overton, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026
Senate Bill 277 proposes repealing much of the Indiana code that governs IDEM, including how the state agency interprets federal environmental laws.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 13 Jan. 2026
Some of those revisions for individual filers include making a mortgage deduction permanent and repealing personal and dependent exemptions.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 12 Jan. 2026
In his opening moves as mayor, Mamdani signed executive orders dealing with housing and one repealing all of former Mayor Eric Adams’s executive orders signed after his indictment on corruption charges in September 2024.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 2 Jan. 2026
Idaho Democrats condemned Friday’s vote, pushing back on the idea that repealing Medicaid Expansion would save the state money.
—Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 19 Dec. 2025
New Hampshire joined the list this year, repealing its interest and dividends tax.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
The changes include repealing a prohibition from constructing or operating a nuclear facility without an IDEM permit and repealing the authorization for the commissioner to conduct a public hearing on environmental effects.
—Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
Cumulative retreat Rather than repealing civil rights statutes outright, the administration has focused on disabling the mechanisms that make those laws work.
—Spencer Overton, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026
Senate Bill 277 proposes repealing much of the Indiana code that governs IDEM, including how the state agency interprets federal environmental laws.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 13 Jan. 2026
Some of those revisions for individual filers include making a mortgage deduction permanent and repealing personal and dependent exemptions.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 12 Jan. 2026
In his opening moves as mayor, Mamdani signed executive orders dealing with housing and one repealing all of former Mayor Eric Adams’s executive orders signed after his indictment on corruption charges in September 2024.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 2 Jan. 2026
Idaho Democrats condemned Friday’s vote, pushing back on the idea that repealing Medicaid Expansion would save the state money.
—Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 19 Dec. 2025
New Hampshire joined the list this year, repealing its interest and dividends tax.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for repealing
Verb
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Weather contributes to several deaths across Indiana Parents on social media were divided on whether school districts made the right move in canceling.—
Heather Bushman,
IndyStar,
29 Jan. 2026
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Consider opting for these noise-canceling Beats, a brand that’s made the tastemaker’s list multiple times.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Two days later, at an outdoor rally, he was asked to commit to abolishing the police department.—
Ruby Cramer,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
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The mayor and Tisch have different stances on several public safety issues, including keeping police headcount flat, abolishing the department’s controversial Strategic Response Group and eliminating the NYPD’s gang database.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Margaret’s father succeeded him as King George VI, and her mother Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, never forgave the duke for renouncing his duty to his country.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
29 Dec. 2025
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Ukraine withdrawing from all of the Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and Kyiv officially renouncing its aim to join NATO.—
Andrea Shalal,
USA Today,
28 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Goodbye Amazon Go Amazon is abandoning its homegrown physical grocery stores, known as Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh, a humbling end to an effort that began almost ten years ago as the online giant sought to expand its retail dominance into the brick-and-mortar world.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026
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But the sudden thaw in relations with Washington has fueled suspicion among hard-line chavistas that Rodríguez is abandoning the movement’s deeply anti-American ideology.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Taking an unprecedented approach to using the relatively novel Congressional Review Act, the House voted 214-208 in favor of overturning a 20-year mining moratorium that was established in 2023.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
21 Jan. 2026
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Francesca Nadin of Prisoners for Palestine said the hunger strikers’ case – and growing support for overturning the ban on Palestine Action – reflect intensifying public concern over the right to free speech.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Uhlaender accused the Canadian team and its coach, Joe Cecchini, of intentionally withdrawing the athletes, deliberately manipulating the field to benefit one of their own sliders’ bids for qualification.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
26 Jan. 2026
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In so doing, avoid withdrawing NATO’s commitment to defend NATO member states’ remote, former (and, in the case of Cyprus, coincidentally insular) colonial territories was thus established as a norm for the alliance, not an exception – one that is newly relevant once again.—
Barry Scott Zellen,
Hartford Courant,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention convened the task force after revoking fireworks licenses held by Devastating Pyrotechnics and BlackStar Fireworks, the other company based at the same Esparto property.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Darial Fernandez said his team is revoking permits obtained through fraud.—
Larry Seward,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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School public safety had initially reported that a suspect had been taken into custody before retracting that statement.—
Kierra Frazier,
CBS News,
13 Dec. 2025
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This series of exemptions is part of EPA’s suite of PFAS de-regulation that includes approving PFAS-laden pesticides and retracting some of its maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) that were the result of years of careful research and policymaking.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Repealing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repealing. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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