cancel
verb
can·cel
| \ ˈkan(t)-səl
\
\
canceled
or cancelled;
canceling
or cancelling\ ˈkan(t)-s(ə-)liŋ
\
\
Definition of cancel
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: to decide not to conduct or perform (something planned or expected) usually without expectation of conducting or performing it at a later time
cancel a football game
b
: to destroy the force, effectiveness, or validity of : annul
cancel a magazine subscription a canceled check
c
: to match in force or effect : offset
—often used with out his irritability canceled out his natural kindness— Osbert Sitwell
d
: to bring to nothingness : destroy
2
: to deface (a postage or revenue stamp) especially with a set of ink lines so as to invalidate for reuse
3a
: to remove (a common divisor) from numerator and denominator
b
: to remove (equivalents) on opposite sides of an equation or account
: to neutralize each other's strength or effect : counterbalance
the various pressure groups to a large degree canceled out— J. B. Conant
cancel
nounDefinition of cancel (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: cancellation
an order quickly followed by a cancel
2a
: a deleted part or passage
b(1)
: a leaf containing matter to be deleted
(2)
: a new leaf or slip substituted for matter already printed
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Other Words from cancel
Verb
cancelable
or cancellable \ ˈkan(t)-s(ə-)lə-bəl
\
adjective
\
adjective
canceler
or canceller \ ˈkan(t)-s(ə-)lər
\
noun
\
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for cancel
Synonyms: Verb
abandon, abort, call, call off, cry off, drop, recall, repeal, rescind, revoke, scrap, scrub
Antonyms: Verb
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Examples of cancel in a Sentence
Verb
The event was canceled at the last minute when the speaker didn't show up. We canceled our dinner reservation. My flight was canceled because of the storm. She canceled her appointment with the dentist. I'm sorry, but I have to cancel. Can we meet next week? He canceled his insurance policy last month. We canceled our magazine subscription when we moved. The bank canceled my credit card. If you subscribe online, you can cancel at any time.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Airports and flights are affected yet again as well as hundreds of flights scheduled for Wednesday have already been canceled. — Editors, USA TODAY, "Florida reeling from Hurricane Dorian, CNN climate change town hall: 5 things to know Wednesday," 4 Sep. 2019 Nearly 1,100 flights going in and out of Florida had been canceled by early Tuesday, data from Flightaware.com showed. — Christina Maxouris, CNN, "Millions in the US are under hurricane and storm alerts as Dorian's outer bands reach parts of Florida," 3 Sep. 2019 Disney's After Hours at Animal Kingdom has also been canceled, and the park is offering a full refund for those who purchased tickets. — Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, "Hurricane Dorian Is Causing Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal to Change Their Hours," 3 Sep. 2019 Due to concerns about pneumonic plague, which can cause severe lung infections, camping had been canceled and on-site parking had been severely curtailed. — The Know, The Denver Post, "PHOTOS: Beer, pipes, dancing and a pigeon head at the Phish concert," 2 Sep. 2019 Among the unanswered questions: how many policies have been canceled? — Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Hot issue: as wildfires spread, so do private firefighting firms," 1 Sep. 2019 More than 600 Labor Day flights in the U.S. had been canceled as of Sunday afternoon, many of them in Florida as Dorian barreled toward the state’s coast. — Ramón Espinosa, Twin Cities, "Dorian strikes Bahamas with record fury as Category 5 storm," 1 Sep. 2019 The Disney After Hours event set for Animal Kingdom has been canceled for Tuesday night. — Dewayne Bevil, orlandosentinel.com, "Hurricane Dorian prompts Disney, SeaWorld, Universal to change parks’ hours," 30 Aug. 2019 Several games involving Broward or Palm Beach County teams have been canceled or rescheduled. — Adam Lichtenstein, sun-sentinel.com, "Hurricane Dorian forcing changes in high school football schedule — including St. Thomas game," 29 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
In today’s mainstream comedy of liberal partisanship and fear of cancel culture, only the gutless are trustworthy. — Peter Spiliakos, National Review, "The Simpsons and the Cowardice of Tribal Comedy," 28 Aug. 2019 But the chilling effect of cancel culture is arguably worse than that of more official forms of censorship. — Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, "Pavlik Morozov Is the Patron Saint of Cancel Culture," 2 July 2019 One finds now, in the back and forth of this saga, foreshadowings of the cancel-culture wars of today. — Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, "Inside the Cultish Dreamworld of Augusta National," 14 June 2019 One of the most affecting sections in Jones’s biography examines Geisel’s moral evolution, demonstrating how an artist could answer to his conscience independently, if imperfectly, decades before the advent of cancel culture. — I-huei Go, The New Yorker, "How Dr. Seuss Changed Education in America," 5 June 2019 Most luxury properties also have flexible cancel policy, meaning that rooms can be cancelled within 24-48 hours. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "What Travelers Need to Know about Zika in Florida," 24 Aug. 2016 For all of the tumult during Fox's cancel-happy prelude to its Monday upfront, the resulting fall schedule doesn't look that dramatically different from the one that preceded it. — Michael O'connell, The Hollywood Reporter, "Fox Fall Schedule Adds More NFL, Puts New Comedies on Friday," 14 May 2018 Once the cycle starts, the machine will be completely emptied of all cash on hand unless the person collecting the cash presses a cancel button on the keypad. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "In a first, US hit by “Jackpotting” attacks that empty ATMs in minutes," 29 Jan. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cancel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.