cancel

[ kan-suhl ]

verb (used with object)

, can·celed, can·cel·ing or (especially British) can·celled, can·cel·ling.

1. to make void, as a contract or other obligation; annul: to cancel a magazine subscription.

   to cancel a hotel reservation;

   to cancel a magazine subscription.

   Synonyms: rescind, countermand

2. to decide or announce that a planned event will not take place; call off:

   to cancel a meeting.

3. to mark or perforate (a postage stamp, admission ticket, etc.) so as to render invalid for reuse.
4. to neutralize; compensate for; counterbalance:

   His sincere apology canceled his sarcastic remark.

5. to publicly reject, boycott, or no longer support (a person or group) because of socially or morally unacceptable views or actions:

   Fans have been quick to cancel their favorite rapper or other celebrity.

6. Accounting.
   1. to close (an account) by crediting or paying all outstanding charges:

      He plans to cancel his account at the department store.

   2. to eliminate or offset (a debit, credit, etc.) with an entry for an equal amount on the opposite side of a ledger, as when a payment is received on a debt.
7. Mathematics. to eliminate by striking out a factor common to both the denominator and numerator of a fraction, equivalent terms on opposite sides of an equation, etc.
8. to cross out (words, letters, etc.) by drawing a line over the item.
9. Printing. to omit.

verb (used without object)

, can·celed, can·cel·ing or (especially British) can·celled, can·cel·ling.

1. to counterbalance or compensate for one another; become neutralized (often followed by out ):

   The pros and cons cancel out.

2. Mathematics. (of factors common to both the denominator and numerator of a fraction, certain terms on opposite sides of an equation, etc.) to be equivalent; to allow cancellation.

noun

1. an act of canceling.
2. Printing, Bookbinding.
   1. an omitted passage, page, etc.
   2. a replacement for an omitted part.

cancel

/ ˈkænsəl /

verb

1. to order (something already arranged, such as a meeting or event) to be postponed indefinitely; call off
2. to revoke or annul

   the order for the new television set was cancelled

3. to delete (writing, numbers, etc); cross out

   he cancelled his name and substituted hers

4. to mark (a cheque, postage stamp, ticket, etc) with an official stamp or by a perforation to prevent further use
5. also intrusually foll byout to counterbalance; make up for (a deficiency, etc)

   his generosity cancelled out his past unkindness

6. 1. to close (an account) by discharging any outstanding debts
   2. sometimes foll by out accounting to eliminate (a debit or credit) by making an offsetting entry on the opposite side of the account
7. maths
   1. to eliminate (numbers, quantities, or terms) as common factors from both the numerator and denominator of a fraction or as equal terms from opposite sides of an equation
   2. intr to be able to be eliminated in this way

noun

1. a new leaf or section of a book replacing a defective one, one containing errors, or one that has been omitted
2. See cancellation
   a less common word for cancellation
3. See natural
   music a US word for natural

Derived Forms

• ˈcanceller, noun

Other Words From

• can·cel·a·ble especially British, can·cel·la·ble adjective
• can·cel·er especially British, can·cel·ler noun
• re·can·cel verb (used with object) recanceled recanceling or (especially British) recancelled recancelling
• self-can·celed adjective
• self-can·celled adjective
• un·can·cel·a·ble adjective
• un·can·celed adjective
• un·can·cel·la·ble adjective
• un·can·celled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cancel¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cancellen, cansellen “to annul, revoke,” from Anglo-French canceler, from Old French chanceler “to cross out with X's or parallel lines,” from Medieval Latin cancellāre “to cross out,” from Latin: “to make like a lattice,” derivative of cancellī “latticed barriers, gratings, grilles,” plural of cancellus; cancellus

Word History and Origins

Origin of cancel¹

C14: from Old French canceller, from Medieval Latin cancellāre, from Late Latin: to strike out, make like a lattice, from Latin cancellī lattice, grating

Synonym Study

Cancel, delete, erase, obliterate indicate that something is no longer to be considered usable or in force. To cancel is to cross something out by stamping a mark over it, drawing lines through it, or the like: to cancel a stamp, a word. To delete is to cross something out from written matter or from matter to be printed, often in accordance with a printer's or proofreader's symbol indicating the material is to be omitted: to delete part of a line. To erase is to remove by scraping or rubbing: to erase a capital letter. To obliterate is to blot out entirely, so as to remove all sign or trace of: to obliterate a record.

Example Sentences

This is a boon for accessibility for certain gamers with disabilities or those who just like their cancel button and accept button to be consistent across games.

From Popular-Science

The thing that people who decry cancel culture often miss is that the examples they use are people who haven’t actually been canceled.

From The Daily Beast

Ad watchRepublican State Legislative Committee, “Cancel Cancel Culture Before the Left Cancels You.”

From Washington Post

Polls suggest that a lot of voters currently don’t know what cancel culture is — and that’s true even among Republicans, despite the party’s elites talking about cancel culture nonstop.

From FiveThirtyEight

What we now call cancel culture is the contentious nature of a free society wrestling with the respectable parameters of public speech.

From Washington Blade

Did he participate in his own extortion and cancel his plans for a big Christmas premiere?

From The Daily Beast

My family is ready to mount an intervention, and cancel my streaming accounts.

From The Daily Beast

Should we cancel gatherings, reunions, excursions, or throw ourselves into them with even more gratitude for one another?

From The Daily Beast

Presumably, without those subsidies, most will just cancel their policies.

From The Daily Beast

In a statement, the MoD admitted that it had been forced to cancel the rest of the training program.

From The Daily Beast

A lease made by a minor is not void, but he may avoid or cancel it by some positive act.

From Project Gutenberg

Does a debtor who turns over a note to his creditor in payment, thereby cancel the debt?

From Project Gutenberg

Either of the parties might cancel the bond, but only after a formal and public notice of his intentions.

From Project Gutenberg

Mendelssohn wanted to cancel the excommunication on the ground that the church has no rights in civil matters.

From Project Gutenberg

The Law does not cancel the promise, but faith in the promised Christ cancels the Law.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abolish
• abort
• annul
• break off
• cut
• destroy
• eliminate
• kill
• remove
• repeal
• rescind
• revoke
• wipe out

Canceled Vs. Cancelled

What's the difference between canceled and cancelled?

Canceled and cancelled are alternate forms of the past tense of the verb cancel.

Canceled is the primary spelling used in American English, while cancelled is the spelling used in British English and preferred in many locations, including in the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and Canada. Perhaps for this reason, cancelled is also occasionally used in American English.

This is part of a general British English spelling pattern in which a single letter L at the end of a verb is doubled when the verb is changed to form a different tense, such as by adding –ed for past tense or -ing for continuous tense. So cancelling is used in British English, while canceling is primarily used in American English. This same pattern applies for many words, such as counsel, but not all. When the stress falls on the final syllable, the L is usually doubled (the past tense of propel is typically spelled propelled, for example).

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between canceled and cancelled.

Quiz yourself on canceled vs. cancelled!

True or False? 

The spelling cancelled is never used in American English.