Cancel Meaning
/ˈkæn.sl̩/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo cross out something with lines etc.
verbTo invalidate or annul something.
Sentence Examples
I am very sorry, but I must cancel our appointment for February 27.
A sudden illness forced her to cancel her appointment.
Her decision to cancel the concert is bound to disappoint her fans.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Due to the storm, the airline had to ____ all flights for safety.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I had to ____ my doctor's appointment because I felt much better.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English cancellen, from Anglo-Norman canceler (“to cross out with lines”) (modern French chanceler (“to stagger, sway”)), from Old French canceler, from Latin cancellō (“to make resemble a lattice”), from cancellus (“a railing or lattice”), diminutive of cancer (“a lattice”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A deed may be avoided by delivering it up to be cancelled; that is, to have lines drawn over it in the form of latticework or cancelli; the phrase is now used figuratively for any manner of obliterating or defacing it."
— 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
""I don't know what your agreement was, Herr Professor, but if it had money in it, cancel it. I want him to learn that lesson, too.""
— 1914, Marjorie Benton Cooke, Bambi:
"These also included not canceling the Christmas display, whose kitschiness drove him bonkers but which endured because people love it and because he is a populist and showman, despite his elitist veneer, and because he has a heart."
— 2008 January 9, Michael Kimmelman, “The Legacy of a Pragmatic Custodian of Human Civilization”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2018:
"AUKUS envisages a wide range of diplomatic and technological collaboration, from cybersecurity to artificial intelligence, but at its core is an agreement to start consultations to help Australia acquire a fleet of nuclear-propelled (though not nuclear-armed) submarines. One consequence of this is Australia cancelling a contract, worth tens of billions of dollars, signed in 2016 with France for diesel-electric submarines. In announcing AUKUS on September 15th with the prime ministers of Australia and Britain, Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson, President Joe Biden stressed that it was about “investing in our greatest source of strength—our alliances”."
— 2021 September 19, “The strategic reverberations of the AUKUS deal will be big and lasting”, in The Economist, archived from the original on 25 Oct 2021:
"Such a 2-handle cancels the 1-handle so the manifold is D⁴."
— 2003, Gordana Matić, Clint McCrory, Topology and geometry of manifolds, →ISBN, page 182:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Due to the storm, the airline had to ____ all flights for safety.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I had to ____ my doctor's appointment because I felt much better.