revoke
- 01 C1 Advanced
v.to officially take back a right, a law, or a document like a driver's license.
v.to officially cancel or invalidate a decree, decision, or privilege by withdrawing it.
Simple“The government decided to revoke his passport after he was accused of a crime.”
In context“The licensing board threatened to revoke the clinic's operating permit if the safety violations were not addressed immediately.”
UsageCommonly used with objects like 'license', 'permit', 'visa', or 'privilege'.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
v.to fail to follow the rules of a card game by not playing a card from the same suit.
v.to fail to follow suit in a trick-taking card game despite holding cards of that suit.
Simple“He accidentally revoked during the bridge game, which cost his team the round.”
In context“In competitive bridge, if a player is found to have revoked, the opposing team is typically awarded penalty tricks.”
UsageUsed as an intransitive verb in the context of card games like bridge or whist.
Synonymsrenege - 03 C2 Proficiency
n.an instance of breaking the rules in a card game by not following suit.
n.an act of failing to follow suit in a card game when able to do so.
Simple“The referee noted a revoke in the third hand of the tournament.”
In context“A revoke is considered a serious procedural error that can invalidate the results of a specific round of play.”
UsageCountable noun used specifically within the terminology of trick-taking card games.
Synonymsrenege
“The State department has cited those ties as the reason for revoking the family's status.”
“Dallas-Fort Worth airport scraps plans for wudu facilities after Republican governor threatens to revoke state funds.”
Borrowed from Middle French révoquer, from Latin revocare, from re- + voco, vocare. Doublet of revocate.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.