annul
UK/ә'nʌl/US
TOEFLGREA2
Definitions
v.
To officially declare a marriage, contract, or law invalid, as if it had never existed.
正式宣告婚姻、合同或法律无效，视同从未存在。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedan-to, toward, near
+
nulnothing
=annul
an- (a form of ad-, 'to') + nullus ('none,' a cousin of nihil through the same ne- 'not') = 'to declare none.' To annul something is to legally erase it so it counts as never having existed — not just ending it, but voiding it backward.
Usage Guide
annul is formal and legal. To annul a marriage means it's declared never valid (different from divorce, which ends a valid marriage). Note: nul- here links to nullus, not directly to nihil, but they're cousins through the same ne- 'not.'
Example Sentences
- 1.
The couple sought to annul their marriage after only a month.
- 2.
The court annulled the contract because of fraud.
- 3.
Parliament voted to annul the controversial law.