Annullable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be declared invalid or void through legal or formal means
2. Capable of being cancelled or reversed by an official decision or action
3. Subject to being made null and ineffective by a ruling or condition

Etymology: "Annullable" is a plain English formation: the verb "annul" with the suffix "-able," meaning "able to be annulled, or canceled." The verb "annul" itself came into English from Latin "annullare," built from "ad-" ("to") and "nullus" ("none"), so its core idea is reducing something to nothing, or making it "null." The suffix "-able" has a longer journey. It descends from Latin "-abilis" (and "-ibilis"), which attached to verbs to mean "capable of being" something. It reached English through Old French "-able," and Middle English already used it widely, so English speakers could attach it to almost any verb they liked. Because "annullable" is a straightforward combination of two parts, it is less a word with its own story than a tidy example of how English builds new adjectives from existing verbs. The meaning follows directly from the parts: something that can be declared void.

Synonyms: voidable, repealable

Antonyms: irrevocable