What does "cancel" mean?
A cancellation.
Cancel
/ˈkæn.sl̩/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A cancellation.
- Grammar: cancel is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: invalidate, annul, nullify, repeal.
- Useful contrasts: accredited, appointed official system, bespoke.
- Usage evidence: I am very sorry, but I must cancel our appointment for February 27.
How to use "cancel"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cancel" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cancel" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cancel" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cancel" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cancel" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "invalidate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cancel", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A cancellation. US
- 2 a notation cancelling a previous sharp or flat wordnet
- 3 A cancellation.; A control message posted to Usenet that serves to cancel a previously posted message. US
- 4 An enclosure; a boundary; a limit. obsolete
"A prison is but a retirement, and opportunity of serious thoughts, to a person whose spirit[…]desires no enlargement beyond the cancels of the body."
- 5 The suppression on striking out of matter in type, or of a printed page or pages.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 The page thus suppressed.
- 7 The page that replaces it.
Verb
- 1 To cross out something with lines etc. transitive
"A deed may be avoided by delivering it up to be cancelled; that is, to have lines drawn over it in the form of latticework or cancelli; the phrase is now used figuratively for any manner of obliterating or defacing it."
- 2 make invalid for use wordnet
- 3 To invalidate or annul something. transitive
"He cancelled his order on their website."
- 4 remove or make invisible wordnet
- 5 To mark something (such as a used postage stamp) so that it can't be reused. transitive
"This machine cancels the letters that have a valid zip code."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 declare null and void; make ineffective wordnet
- 7 To offset or equalize something. transitive
"The corrective feedback mechanism cancels out the noise."
- 8 postpone indefinitely or annul something that was scheduled wordnet
- 9 To remove a common factor from both the numerator and denominator of a fraction, or from both sides of an equation. transitive
"Such a 2-handle cancels the 1-handle so the manifold is D⁴."
- 10 make up for wordnet
- 11 To stop production of a programme. transitive
- 12 To suppress or omit; to strike out, as matter in type. dated
- 13 To shut out, as with a railing or with latticework; to exclude. obsolete
"cancelled from heaven"
- 14 To kill. slang
- 15 To cease to provide financial or moral support to (someone deemed unacceptable); to disinvite. Compare cancel culture. neologism, transitive
"Bill Gates is canceled. Gwen Stefani and Erykah Badu are canceled. Despite his relatively strong play in the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo has been canceled. Taylor Swift is canceled and Common is canceled and, Wednesday, Antoni Porowski, a “Queer Eye” fan favorite was also canceled. Needless to say, Kanye West is canceled, too."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"I am very sorry, but I must cancel our appointment for February 27."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cancel"?
Common synonyms include: invalidate, annul, nullify, repeal, revoke, stop.
How do you use "cancel" in a sentence?
I am very sorry, but I must cancel our appointment for February 27.
How do you pronounce "cancel"?
Pronounced /ˈkæn.sl̩/.
Etymology
From Middle English cancellen, from Anglo-Norman canceler (“to cross out with lines”) (modern French chanceler (“to stagger, sway”)), from Old French canceler, from Latin cancellō (“to make resemble a lattice”), from cancellus (“a railing or lattice”), diminutive of cancer (“a lattice”).