Synonyms

invalidate

American

[in-val-i-deyt] / ɪnˈvæl ɪˌdeɪt /

verb (used with object)

invalidated, invalidating

to render invalid; discredit.

Synonyms:

rebut , refute , disprove , impair , weaken
to deprive of legal force or efficacy; nullify.

invalidate British

/ ɪnˈvælɪˌdeɪt /

verb

to render weak or ineffective, as an argument
to take away the legal force or effectiveness of; annul, as a contract

"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

invalidation noun
invalidator noun

Etymology

Origin of invalidate

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

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.

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.

From 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.

From 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".

From 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.

From Barron's

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023