nullification

[nuhl-uh-fi-key-shuhn]

noun

1. an act or instance of nullifying.

2. the state of being nullified.

3. the failure or refusal of a U.S. state to aid in enforcement of federal laws within its limits, especially on Constitutional grounds.

nullification

1. The doctrine that states can set aside federal laws. Urged in the late 1820s by John C. Calhoun, nullification precipitated a crisis between Calhoun and President Andrew Jackson. The doctrine was foreshadowed by Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Kentucky Resolutions. (See Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.)

Other Word Forms

• nullificationist noun
• nullificator noun
• nonnullification noun
• renullification noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nullification¹

First recorded in 1620–30; from Late Latin nūllificātiōn- (stem of nūllificātiō ) “contempt,” equivalent to nūllificāt(us) (past participle of nūllificāre “to despise, contemn”) + -iōn- -ion; nullify

Related Words

• abolishment www.thesaurus.com
• abrogation 
• annulment 
• revocation