Invalidating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To render something invalid or nullify its effectiveness or legitimacy; to challenge the validity of a belief, claim, or argument; to diminish the worth or importance of a person's feelings, experiences, or opinions
2. To render ineffective or void by questioning its legitimacy; to dispute the truthfulness of an assertion or belief; to disregard or lessen the significance of an individual's emotions or experiences
3. To nullify or make something without legal force by deeming it invalid; to refute the correctness of an idea or assumption; to undermine the value or recognition of someone's personal experiences or feelings

Etymology: "Invalidating" is the present participle of "invalidate," which is a verb that has been in English since the mid-1600s. The verb came into English from Middle French "invalider," which was itself built from "invalide," meaning "not valid," with the French verb-forming ending "-er" attached. Behind "invalide" stands the Latin "invalidus," meaning "weak" or "infirm," made of the negating prefix "in-" and "validus," meaning "strong" (the same root that gives us "valid" and "value"). The sense of "making something void" grows out of that old idea of strength. Something that is valid has force behind it, so to invalidate something is to strip away that force, leaving it weak and without legal or logical effect. The word began with the picture of a body losing its strength, and it moved on to documents, arguments and results, where the same loss of force now means the thing no longer counts.

Synonyms: nullifying, annulling, voiding, cancelling, disqualifying

Antonyms: validating, confirming, endorsing, ratifying, approving