Standard Lemma guide

nullification

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌnʌlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: N AH2 L AH0 F AH0 K EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of nullifying; a rendering void and of no effect, or no legal effect.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abolition, annulment, devalidation, abrogation, cancellation, deauthentication, invalidation, nullification, renunciation, revocation, termination, vitiation

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The nullification crisis in U.S. history, confrontation between the state of South Carolina and the federal government in 1832–33 over the former's attempt to declare null and void within the state the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Surgical removal of genitals (and sometimes nipples) as a form of body modification.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, neologism, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

the act of nullifying; making null and void; counteracting or overriding the effect or force of something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: override

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change of state

Narrower terms: cancellation, vitiation, neutralization, neutralisation, counteraction

5

noun

Meaning 5

the states'-rights doctrine that a state can refuse to recognize or to enforce a federal law passed by the United States Congress

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: states' rights

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin nullificatio, from nullifico, equivalent to null + -ification.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: анулиране (anulirane) — the act of nullifying something
  • Bulgarian: обезсилване (obezsilvane) — the act of nullifying something
  • Finnish: mitätöinti — the act of nullifying something
  • Finnish: nullifikaatio — the act of nullifying something
  • French: annulation — the act of nullifying something
  • Ancient Greek: ἀθέτησις (athétēsis) — the act of nullifying something
  • Italian: nullificazione — the act of nullifying something
  • Japanese: 無効化 (mukōka) — the act of nullifying something
  • Māori: whakakāhoretanga — the act of nullifying something
  • Portuguese: anulação — the act of nullifying something
  • Russian: обнуле́ние (obnulénije) — the act of nullifying something
  • Ottoman Turkish: ابطال (ibtal) — the act of nullifying something
  • Ottoman Turkish: لغو (lağv, lağıv) — the act of nullifying something
  • French: nullification — the nullification crisis in U.S. history