Have you ever met with words that are heard, but their meaning is confusing? They flash in the media, are used in speech. However, the interpretation is still behind seven seals. Perhaps you just forget to look up their meaning in a dictionary. It happens that there is a desire to find out what this or that term means, and then it is simply forgotten. In this article, the veil of secrecy over the word "cancel" will be lifted. What does this linguistic unit mean? It is known that this word has two shades of meaning.
Cancel
First, it is worth noting that the verb "annul" came to us from Latin. There are two versions of its origin: from the word nullus (which means "insignificant") or from the verb annulare ("destroy"). By the way, it is worth remembering that two consonants "n" are written in "annul"
So, let's specify what "cancel" means. The first meaning is: "cancel something", "revoke". It is worth clarifying that this word is acceptable for an official business style of speech. It is mainly used in legal texts.
As an example, consider this situation. The married couple decided to divorce. The entire procedure for dissolution of marriage went through the court. As a result, they got a divorce. But after a while they realized that they wanted to be together again. They decided to annul the divorce decree. But they (quite naturally) were refused. Will have to remarry.
Loss of power
There is another interpretation that indicates what "annul" means. It looks like this: "declare invalid, unenforceable".
You can bring such an everyday situation. The man wanted to go abroad in order to earn money. But instead of a work visa, he opened a tourist one. As a result, it turned out that he did not rest abroad, but worked. This may cause the visa to be canceled, as there is a deception about the purpose of the visit to the country.
Cancel the results of elections in a certain area. For example, if serious violations are revealed. That is, the election results lose their validity, since it is impossible to establish their true result.
Examples of usage
As mentioned above, cancel is acceptable in formal business style. It rarely occurs in everyday speech, as it sounds too formal. Here are a few sentences that will illustrate the interpretation of the word "annul" in both the first and second meanings. It is worth noting that both interpretations are almost the same. They are just two shades of meaning:
- To cancel the order, click on the red button and confirm your choice.
- Annulment of a marriage in the presence of minor children is possible only in court.
- The company canceled the deal with the supplier and started legal proceedings.
- It is impossible to cancel a visa without the knowledge of the tourist.
- Attorney failed to annul court order.
- To cancel a bank account, you need to provide all the necessary documents.
- Deputy mandate annulled in accordance with court decision.
- The firm has decided to cancel the contract and terminate all relations with business partners.
Synonyms for the word
The verb cancel can be replaced by several words with the same lexical meaning. They are easy to find in the dictionary of synonyms. By the word "annul" you can pick up stylistically flexible words. They can be used not only in official business, but also in other styles of speech. It all depends on the specific situation.
- Repay. - The client was unable to repay the bank account, as he did not pay the accumulated debt.
- Liquidate. - All previously concluded agreements were liquidated due to bad faith of one of the parties.
- Cease to exist. - The furniture company ceased to exist due to the crisis.
- Cancel. - The decision of the court can be overturned by resorting to a special procedure.
- Pay out. - Allthe debt has been paid, so no more interest can be charged.
- Cancel. - To terminate the agreement, you must have a good reason for this.
- Reduce to zero. - All claims are reduced to zero, the parties managed to sign a settlement agreement.
Now it's clear what "cancel" means. This word mainly refers to official business vocabulary. In everyday speech, it is more appropriate to use synonyms. It is worth choosing them depending on the context so that the reader can understand what is at stake.
