nullification

[nuhl-uh-fi-key-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nullification ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of nullifying.

the state of being nullified.

(often initial capital letter) the failure or refusal of a U.S. state to aid in enforcement of federal laws within its limits, especially on Constitutional grounds.

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Origin of nullification

1620–30; < Late Latin nūllificātiōn- (stem of nūllificātiō) contempt, equivalent to nūllificāt(us) (past participle of nūllificāre to despise) + -iōn- -ion. See nullify

Related formsnul·li·fi·ca·tion·ist, nul·li·fi·ca·tor, nounnon·nul·li·fi·ca·tion, nounre·nul·li·fi·ca·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nullification

This behavior is so unprecedented that neutral observers have likened it to nullification and other anti-majoritarian tactics.
Why Democrats Should End Nomination Filibusters|Jamelle Bouie|October 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His point being I guess that nullification wasn't limited to the South.
The South's Contribution (Singular!)|Michael Tomasky|February 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The nullification craziness, mostly talk during the first Obama term, is inching toward codification.
The GOP Plan to Steal Elections|Michael Tomasky|January 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It's a form of nullification, and Jim DeMint even used the word.
I'm Reading George Clinton for the 4th|Michael Tomasky|July 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Were there protest marches, mass donnings of tricorn hats, nullification threats from states regarding federal legislation?
The Meltdown’s True Villain|Michael Tomasky|August 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
South Carolina passed her nullification ordinance, and prepared to resist the collection of revenues at Charleston.
Famous American Statesmen|Sarah Knowles Bolton
The storm of "nullification" had not yet subsided, and Pemberton imbibed the tenets of the Calhoun school.
Destruction and Reconstruction:|Richard Taylor
They then entered suit before Judge Tomati for the nullification of the dowry contract.
The Old Yellow Book|Anonymous
The want of such power was the very ground on which South Carolina passed the nullification acts of 1832.
Nullification, Secession Webster's Argument and the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions|Caleb William Loring
Go back to the Nullification question, at the bottom of which lay this same slavery question.
Standard Selections|Various

Word Origin and History for nullification

nullification

in U.S. political sense of "a state's refusing to allow a federal law to be enforced," 1798, in Thomas Jefferson; from Late Latin nullificationem (nominative nullificatio) "a making as nothing," from past participle stem of nullificare (see nullify). Related: Nullificationist.

Culture definitions for nullification

nullification

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.)