repeal
verb (used with object)
to revoke or withdraw formally or officially.
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repeal
American
[ri-peel]
/ rɪˈpil /
verb (used with object)
-
repeals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
repealed,
past participle, past
-
repealing
present participle
-
to revoke or withdraw formally or officially.
to repeal a grant.
-
to revoke or annul (a law, tax, duty, etc.) by express legislative enactment; abrogate.
- Synonyms:
- invalidate, rescind, abolish, nullify
noun
repeal
1
British
/ rɪˈpiːl /
verb
-
to annul or rescind officially (something previously ordered); revoke
these laws were repealed
-
obsolete to call back (a person) from exile
noun
Repeal
2
British
/ rɪˈpiːl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
repealabilitynoun
-
repealablenessnoun
-
repealernoun
-
unrepealabilitynoun
-
nonrepealableadjective
-
repealableadjective
-
unrepealableadjective
-
unrepealedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
repealsimple
-
repealssimple
-
have repealedperfect
-
has repealedperfect
-
am repealingprogressive
-
are repealingprogressive
-
is repealingprogressive
-
have been repealingperfect progressive
-
has been repealingperfect progressive
Past
-
repealedsimple
-
had repealedperfect
-
was repealingprogressive
-
were repealingprogressive
-
had been repealingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of repeal
1275–1325; Middle English repelen < Anglo-French repeler, equivalent to re- re- + ( a ) peler to appeal
Explanation
To repeal something — usually a law, ordinance or public policy — is to take it back. For example, dog lovers might want the town council to repeal the law that says residents can have no more than four dogs. The verb repeal comes from the Anglo-French word repeler, “to call back.” Repeal is almost always used in the context of law: When a government decides to get rid of an ordinance or law, that ordinance or law is repealed. That means it is no longer in effect, like if the weather becomes unseasonably hot, the schools might repeal the part of the dress code to permit students to wear shorts.
Vocabulary lists containing repeal
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The American Revolution - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
And in Washington state, voters will consider whether to repeal a newly enacted 9.9% tax on households that earn over $1 million.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
In a statement Manx Duty of Care said it was "deeply disappointed" with the announcement, calling for "new members of Tynwald to table a bill to repeal it at once".
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
The scare tactic has helped reduce support for the repeal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The administration couldn’t repeal healthcare translation laws singlehandedly, Lynette Martins, a professor of health law at DePaul University, told me.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
The protesters had issued an ultimatum, demanding that the government repeal the Black Act.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
Some have called in the "Art of the Repeal".
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2025
Repeal of that restriction will ease the burdens D.C. residents bear for the federal presence.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2023
“They did that through canvassing: going door-to-door, knocking, and having conversations,” said Sinéad Kennedy, a member of Together for Yes’ national executive committee and co-founder of the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2022
Repeal of the law was approved by Congress and President Barack Obama in late 2010 and took effect nine months later, allowing lesbian, gay and bisexual people to serve openly.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2021
Twenty-five years later he inscribed on the Repeal banner his memorable saying, "No political change is worth the shedding of one drop of human blood."
From Sketches of Reforms and Reformers, of Great Britain and Ireland by Henry B. Stanton
"So if there were laws in our statute book in 1994, the constitution explicitly says they remain in force until parliament repeals them, abolishes them or changes them," he adds.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
In agreeing to hear the pair of cases, the justices did not disturb the lower court rulings that blocked the repeals for now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
A major wave of repeals took place in 1985, when Minnesota, South Carolina, and Texas eliminated their blue laws.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 20, 2025
And these repeals would bar the targeted agency from ever taking a “substantially” similar action again.
From Slate ● May 14, 2025
Parliament, passes and repeals Stamp Act, 49; lays duties on paper, tea, etc.,
From George Washington by William Roscoe Thayer
However, some of the ballot language in Measure G unintentionally repealed Measure J — an administrative error that was discovered in June 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
Congress repealed that law in 1802, before a vacancy arose, and reset the number of justices to six.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
Constitutional law expert Prof Frans Viljoen believes having the old law repealed is important because it would help to "clean up" the legislation and "close a chapter on the past".
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
This law repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, which previously reduced Social Security payments for many public-sector retirees like your wife.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
To the relief of many Americans, including the Coast Guard, Prohibition had been repealed a few months before.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Forest Service, said this week that repealing the rule would give local agencies more authority over land management issues and help reduce barriers to wildfire risk reduction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
In 2020, I calculated that repealing the firewall would lead to $2.2 trillion in higher subsidy spending over a decade for the estimated 24 million people who would switch from employer coverage to the exchanges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
But it soon became clear that repealing the previous legislation was one thing; how to replace it quite another.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
However, repealing the earnings test would likely lead to more people claiming Social Security early, hastening the system’s impending insolvency.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
Professor Dash asked me whether I took any encouragement from the government’s stated intention of repealing die mixed-marriage laws and certain other apartheid statutes.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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