nullification

American  

[nuhl-uh-fi-key-shuhn] / ˌnʌl ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of nullifying.

2. the state of being nullified.

3. the failure or refusal of a U.S. state to aid in enforcement of federal laws within its limits, especially on Constitutional grounds.

---

nullification Cultural  

1. The doctrine that states can set aside federal laws. Urged in the late 1820s by John C. Calhoun, nullification precipitated a crisis between Calhoun and President Andrew Jackson. The doctrine was foreshadowed by Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Kentucky Resolutions. (See Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.)

---

Other Word Forms

• nonnullification
  noun
• nullificationist
  noun
• nullificator
  noun
• renullification
  noun

Etymology

Origin of nullification

First recorded in 1620–30; from Late Latin nūllificātiōn- (stem of nūllificātiō ) “contempt,” equivalent to nūllificāt(us) (past participle of nūllificāre “to despise, contemn”) + -iōn- -ion; see nullify

Explanation

Nullification is the act of cancelling something. Counteracting the effects of a snakebite with an antidote could be described as nullification, for example. Use the noun nullification when one thing overcomes or overrides another, basically erasing the effects of the first thing. Nullification of a newly passed law would occur if the law turned out to be impossible to enforce. The word is most often used in a political sense, in fact, and was first used this way by Thomas Jefferson in 1798. The Latin root is nullificationem, "a making as nothing," from nullus, "not any."

Example Sentences

In a split decision, the appeals panel upheld his nullification of leases to Brentwood and Safety Park Corp. but reversed his ruling on UCLA, which was based on a different law.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2026

One of the earliest examples of jury nullification in North America, this case influenced the Founders as they moved to guarantee public trials by jury in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

Before we get into jury nullification, I want to make a couple of points.

From Slate • Nov. 7, 2025

“I see a very real risk of jury nullification in the case. I haven't seen something like this since OJ, where there is so much sympathy for the accused.”

From Salon • Jan. 1, 2025

Fortunately for Jefferson, the leadership of the Kentucky legislature decided to delete the sections of his draft endorsing nullification, presumably because such open defiance of federal law seemed excessive and unnecessarily risky.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• abolishment
• abrogation
• annulment
• revocation