Annulling

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈnʌlɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Making an agreement, contract, or law legally void so it has no effect
2. Rendering a decision or arrangement null and void as if it never existed
3. Terminating the validity of a document or act by official or legal means

Etymology: "Annulling" is the present participle of "annul", which comes from a Latin verb that meant to reduce something to nothing. Latin "annullō" was built from "ad", meaning "to", and "nūllus", meaning "none" or "not any", so its literal sense was something like "bring to nothing." Its root "nūllus" is also the source of the English "null," which is why the two words share a core idea of emptiness. The word passed into Middle English as "annullen" and reached English through Old French "anuller." Over time it narrowed from the general sense of destroying or annihilating something to the specific legal sense of declaring that something has no binding force. A marriage, a contract, or a law can be annulled, meaning it is treated as if it never existed. That legal meaning is the one the participle carries here, so "annulling" describes the act of cancelling something from the record rather than simply ending it.

Synonyms: cancelling, voiding, repealing, rescinding, abrogating

Antonyms: confirming, validating