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

Cook said in an interview published on Wednesday that Apple planned to raise its prices in a bid to cancel out the impact of surging memory and storage chip costs.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

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

From BBC • May 15, 2026

These repeated interactions can either build up or cancel out rotation.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2026

Two weeks later, higher gasoline and energy prices stemming from the conflict could cancel out the effects of those higher refunds, economists say.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 14, 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