verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rescind
First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin rescindere “to tear off again, cut away,” equivalent to re- re- + scindere “to tear, divide, destroy”
Explanation
If you get a call saying a company has decided to rescind your job offer, it's back to the classifieds for you. Rescind means "to cancel or revoke." Things that are rescinded: policies, court decisions, regulations, and official statements. What all these examples have in common is that they are on the record. Also, rescind usually refers to promises instead of tangible objects. You can't rescind a shirt a friend has borrowed from you, but you can rescind your offer to loan her your jeans.
Vocabulary lists containing rescind
Night
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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The Crucible
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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.
“It’s expensive, but it’s an earned benefit they cannot legally rescind now. Until I hit 65, I will be allowed to sign up for company group medical coverage.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026
The award-winning poet Evelyn Araluen said UQP's handling of Money's book was of "extreme disappointment" to her, and she would rescind all her remaining contracts with the publisher.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
In July she announced a plan to rescind 63 regulations that had been designed to help workers.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
The committee also expressed alarm at Washington's decision to rescind longstanding guidelines and policies limiting immigration enforcement operations and arrests near schools, hospitals and faith-based institutions.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026
Tillie confided to her lawyer that she wanted to prevent Morrison from inheriting her estate and to rescind his guardianship of her children.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
