Synonyms

rescind

American

[ri-sind] / rɪˈsɪnd /

verb (used with object)

to abrogate; annul; revoke; repeal.

Synonyms:

withdraw, retract, nullify
to invalidate (an act, measure, etc.) by a later action or a higher authority.

Synonyms:

veto, repeal, countermand

rescind British

/ rɪˈsɪnd /

verb

(tr) to annul or repeal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Etymology

Origin of rescind

First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin rescindere “to tear off again, cut away,” equivalent to re- re- + scindere “to tear, divide, destroy”

Explanation

If you get a call saying a company has decided to rescind your job offer, it's back to the classifieds for you. Rescind means "to cancel or revoke." Things that are rescinded: policies, court decisions, regulations, and official statements. What all these examples have in common is that they are on the record. Also, rescind usually refers to promises instead of tangible objects. You can't rescind a shirt a friend has borrowed from you, but you can rescind your offer to loan her your jeans.

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Vocabulary lists containing rescind

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Rescind all academic and university related honors and titles.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2018

Rescind the championship titles, and ban the team from any post-season playoffs for five years.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 29, 2016

Rescind those decisions "within the next two days," he demanded, or the shipment of supplies to Lithuania would be stopped.

From Time Magazine Archive

Churchill in the Rescind thus writes of him:— 'Who could so nobly grace the motley list, Actor, Inspector, Doctor, Botanist?

From Life of Johnson, Volume 2 1765-1776 by Hill, George Birkbeck Norman

To keep this pact, I find surpass my power; Rescind it, Moirai!

From Browning and His Century by Clarke, Helen Archibald

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023