invalidate

[in-val-i-deyt]

verb (used with object)

invalidated, invalidating 

1. to render invalid; discredit.

   Synonyms: rebut, refute, disprove, impair, weaken

2. to deprive of legal force or efficacy; nullify.

invalidate

/ ɪnˈvælɪˌdeɪt /

verb

1. to render weak or ineffective, as an argument

2. to take away the legal force or effectiveness of; annul, as a contract

Other Word Forms

• invalidation noun
• invalidator noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of invalidate¹

First recorded in 1640–50; invalid ² + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

At this point, university economics departments had mostly been spared of the scandals that have hit other fields, including materials science, where a blockbuster finding on room-temperature superconductivity was invalidated in 2023.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A Norwegian appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court's ruling invalidating three oil permits in the major crude producer for insufficient environmental-impact studies, in a new victory for climate campaigners.

Read more on Barron's

The alleged victim later spoke out against the verdict, saying it would not "invalidate the truth or erase the pain I have suffered".

Read more on BBC

Some in the markets have worried that a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the tariffs would threaten that trend, by eliminating a source of revenue and putting the deficit on a worse trajectory.

Read more on Barron's

The court needn’t invalidate Section 2 to correct this imbalance.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abolish 
• abrogate 
• annul 
• discredit 
• disqualify 
• impair 
• negate 
• nullify 
• overrule 
• quash 
• revoke 
• undermine 
• undo