noun
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a formal invalidation, as of a marriage, judicial proceeding, etc
-
the act of annulling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of annulment
Explanation
An annulment is the cancellation of revocation of something, like a marriage. After an annulment, it's like the marriage never happened. The root nul (from Latin nullum) of this word is a good clue to its meaning: the underlying verb annul originally meant "reduce to nothing." An annulment also reduces something to nothing by canceling or terminating it, usually in a legal sense. The most common use of the term is the annulment of a marriage, which not only ends the marriage, but legally makes it as if the marriage never happened. Annulment is like a legal eraser.
Vocabulary lists containing annulment
The Renaissance and Reformation, Lessons 5–6
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Notes of a Native Son
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Cold Sassy Tree
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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.
See Examples For:
There are some instances when that may change, such as in the event the second marriage ends in an annulment, divorce or death.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
He requested on Monday the annulment of these votes by the National Jury of Elections.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
The annulment of May’s exam sparked national outrage and renewed scrutiny of corruption and accountability in the country’s education system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
The presence of ammonia near the site could lead to the annulment of the building permit, he added.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
Did she mean to ask whether she was to forget the old compact, or its new annulment?
From The Open Question a tale of two temperaments by Elizabeth Robins
Still, over 49% of flights from Boston Logan were cancelled Tuesday morning, with similar high annulments at LaGuardia and Newark Liberty.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
The Roman Catholic Church operates tribunals that consider spiritual issues and marriage annulments.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
The approach has scored Francis some victories, such as bypassing conservative bishops to streamline the procedures by which Catholics can obtain marriage annulments.
From Reuters ● Oct. 26, 2016
However some cardinals don’t believe the pope is really open to their input, and they note that he a few weeks ago issued some changes to streamline the process of getting marriage annulments.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2015
The Copyright Office has no authority to recognize annulments, but it has noted request for annulment when received on the registry.
From Copyright: Its History and Its Law by Richard Rogers Bowker
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
