annul
annul Lexical Profile
annul Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To declare officially or legally invalid, void, or without force (especially of a law, contract, or election).
"The constitutional court voted to annul the disputed election results after discovering widespread irregularities."
To declare officially that a marriage had no legal existence from the outset.
"They petitioned the ecclesiastical tribunal to annul their marriage less than a year after the ceremony."
Word Nuance & Usage
In legal and religious contexts, to 'annul' a marriage means to declare that it was never legally valid from the beginning, unlike a divorce, which terminates a valid marriage.
• Rhymes for annul
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French 'anuller', which derives from Late Latin 'annullare' ('to reduce to nothing'), formed from 'ad-' ('to') and 'nullus' ('none, nothing').