Disannulling

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Declaring a law, contract or decree null and void so that it no longer has any legal force
2. Cancelling an agreement or ruling so that it is treated as though it never existed
3. Rendering an official act or formal decision invalid and without effect from the start

Etymology: "Disannul" is built from "dis-" and "annul," so its history is largely the history of "annul." That base comes from Anglo-French "anuller," which means "to annul" and is itself rooted in Latin "annullare," "to reduce to nothing," from "ad-" plus "nullus," "none." The prefix "dis-" is an English addition, from Latin "dis-," meaning "apart" or "reversed," and in "disannul" it carries the sense of undoing an annulment. The ending "-ing" is a standard English suffix, which is why the form reads as a participle or gerund and follows the usual pattern for verbs formed from existing bases. The word gives the impression of a double reversal: the "dis-" undoes the "annul," which itself was a way of making something count as nothing. Nothing more needs to be said about the form itself, since it is a regular extension of the verb.

Synonyms: annul, nullify, invalidate, void, cancel

Antonyms: validate, ratify, confirm, establish, enact