quash
v.v. to officially cancel or stop something, especially a legal decision or a plan. It is a formal word used mostly in law to say that a court decision is not valid anymore.
v. to annul or invalidate a legal decision, order, or contract. Often used in the context of appellate courts overturning a lower court's ruling.
The higher court decided to quash the original verdict.
The judge ordered the police to quash the search warrant because it was signed by an invalid authority.
The appeal was successful in quashing the conviction, citing a significant procedural error that had compromised the defendant's right to a fair trial.
From Middle English quaschen, quasshen, cwessen, quassen, from Old French quasser, from Latin quassāre, under the influence of cassō (“to annul”), from Latin quatiō (“I shake”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁t- (“to shake”) (same root for the English words: pasta, paste, pastiche, pastry). Cognate with Dutch kwetsen (“to hurt, injure”), German quetschen (“to crush, squash”), Spanish quejar (“to complain”).