rescission
Americannoun
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rescissions
plural
noun
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the act of rescinding
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law the right to have a contract set aside if it has been entered into mistakenly, as a result of misrepresentation, undue influence, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of rescission
1605–15; < Late Latin rescissiōn- (stem of rescissiō ) a making void, rescinding, equivalent to resciss ( us ) (past participle of rescindere to rescind, equivalent to re- re- + scid-, variant stem of scindere to cleave, tear in two + -tus past participle suffix, with dt > ss ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
If you’ve really had it with your business partner, you may make a motion for rescission to dissolve your legal ties. Rescission refers to the canceling of a contract or other legal agreement. The word rescission entered English in the17th century from the Latin word rescissio(n-), from resciss-, meaning “split again.” When a rescission takes place, you can think of it as two parties that are split up again — it’s as if they never had any ties together. You’ll most often hear the word used in a legal context. If someone violates part of a contract, then the other party might seek rescission, meaning the contract will be declared void.
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:
Federal officials said the rescission will remove the national designation of roadless areas but does not mandate timber cutting or road construction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Of people and organizations that authored their own submissions, at least four out of five opposed the rescission of the rules, a Risk Journal analysis showed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Additionally, failure of consideration — where one party does not carry out their promised obligations in a way that significantly harms the other party — can justify rescission, the law firm adds.
From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026
The five-judge appeals panel determined that McCormick ruled improperly in ordering a rescission, the tossing out of Musk's package in its entirety.
From Barron's ● Dec. 19, 2025
SEE Blashfield, De Witt C. A treatise on the rescission of contracts.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1956 January - June by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
From then on, presidents had to request rescissions from Congress—essentially asking permission to withhold funds after they had been included in an appropriations bill.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2025
“Instead of this attempt to undermine the law, the appropriate way is to identify ways to reduce excessive spending through the bipartisan, annual appropriations process. Congress approves rescissions regularly as part of this process.”
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2025
Similarly, the significant health and climate benefits sacrificed with these rescissions disproportionately harm people with compromised health and communities with high exposure to pollution or weather impacts.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2025
Simpson said that without such rescissions, as they are called in Washington, he couldn’t vote for the agriculture spending bill because the cuts “would have just been devastating.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 2023
No additional authorizations or appropriations will be necessary for the Maritime Commission since sufficient balances will be left after the above-mentioned rescissions to carry out the program now contemplated for the fiscal year 1947.
From State of the Union Address by Harry S. Truman
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.
