cancel out

Idioms  

1. Neutralize the effect of, offset, render void. For example, Anne's kindness to her neighbor could not cancel out her irritability. The verb cancel was used in this way by itself from the late 1400s; out was added in the early 1900s.

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Example Sentences

"But that doesn't make it OK," Pombo says, "one doesn't cancel out the other."

From BBC • May 15, 2026

If two galaxies spinning in nearly opposite directions collided, their motions could cancel out.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2026

Any amount you convert is subject to income-tax rates of up to 37%—but the senior deduction can help cancel out that tax, Adams says.

From Barron's • Apr. 25, 2026

The standard advice for a central bank facing an oil shock is to look past it, concluding that the hit to growth and the boost to inflation roughly cancel out.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

“Because my weird has to be able to cancel out your weird, Lady Cross-stitch.”

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Related Words

• annihilate
• belie
• disallow
• disprove
• invalidate
• neutralize
• nullify
• rebut
• reverse
• undo
• vitiate
• void