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Synonyms

cancellation

American  
[kan-suh-ley-shuhn] / ˌkæn səˈleɪ ʃən /
Or cancelation

noun

  1. an act of canceling.

  2. the marks or perforations made in canceling.

  3. something canceled, as a reservation for a hotel room, airplane ticket, allowing someone else to obtain the accommodation.

cancellation British  
/ ˌkænsɪˈleɪʃən /

noun

  1. the fact or an instance of cancelling

  2. something that has been cancelled, such as a theatre ticket, esp when it is available for another person to take

    we have a cancellation in the stalls

  3. the marks or perforation made by cancelling

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of cancellation

First recorded in 1525–35, cancellation is from the Latin word cancellātion- (stem of cancellātiō ). See cancellate, -ion

Vocabulary lists containing cancellation

List 5

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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.

The U.K. telecoms group will pay 4.3 billion pounds for the stake via a share cancellation, the companies said Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

“People who were already struggling to stay housed are now one policy cancellation away from financial collapse. This is not an abstract environmental issue. It is happening to families right now.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Sienna's aunt Jessica Gill realised the insurance would be an issue, and said GreatCover insurance told them it had been voided for travelling because of Sienna's diagnosis, but she was still insured for cancellation.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

Asked separately whether the cancellation meant a return to hostilities, Trump said: "No, it doesn't mean that. We haven't thought about it yet."

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

The pain itself was so much a matter of course that it had vanished out of the picture, as if by a process of cancellation.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Definitions 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.