cancel
- 01 A2 Elementary
v.to decide that something you planned, like a meeting or a trip, will not happen.
v.to decide or announce that a planned event will not take place. Transitive; requires a direct object.
Simple“The school had to cancel the football match because of the heavy rain.”
In context“The airline was forced to cancel several international flights after a technical fault grounded the entire fleet for safety inspections.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
v.to stop a service you pay for, like a gym membership or a phone plan.
v.to invalidate or annul a legal agreement, subscription, or service. Often implies a formal notification to the provider.
Simple“I want to cancel my magazine subscription because I don't have time to read it.”
In context“The client decided to cancel the contract after the agency failed to meet the agreed-upon performance targets for three consecutive months.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to stop supporting a famous person because they said or did something offensive.
v.to withdraw support for a public figure or company as a form of social protest, typically on social media.
Simple“The actor was cancelled by many fans after his offensive comments went viral.”
In context“The brand faced a massive backlash and was effectively cancelled by its core demographic following the controversial marketing campaign.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is often used in the context of 'cancel culture'; it can be highly polarizing and is mostly used in informal or online discussions.
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to have an opposite effect so that the result is zero or neutral.
v.to offset or neutralize the effect of something else. Often used with the particle 'out'.
Simple“The extra money I earned was cancelled out by the high cost of the repairs.”
In context“The gains made by the marketing department were unfortunately cancelled out by the rising costs of raw materials during the same quarter.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to remove the same numbers from both sides of an equation or a fraction.
v.to remove a common factor from both the numerator and denominator of a fraction, or from both sides of an equation.
Simple“You can cancel the zeros to make the fraction easier to read.”
In context“The student failed to cancel the common variables in the numerator, leading to an unnecessarily complex final expression.”
- 06 C1 Advanced
v.to put a mark on a postage stamp so it cannot be used again.
v.to mark a postage stamp or ticket with a physical or digital seal to prevent reuse.
Simple“The post office uses a machine to cancel the stamps on every letter.”
In context“Collectors often value stamps that have been cancelled with rare or historically significant postmarks from small rural offices.”
- 07 C2 Proficiency
n.a new page printed to replace a page with a mistake in a book.
n.a new leaf or page printed to take the place of one containing an error, which is then removed before binding.
Simple“The publisher sent a cancel to be inserted into the first edition of the book.”
In context“Bibliographers carefully examine cancels to determine the original text that the author or publisher intended to suppress.”
Synonyms
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”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.