Word
revoke
Phoneticsre·voke, stress on the second syllable
US/ɹiˈvoʊk/
UK/ɹɪvˈəʊk/
Definitions
01to cancel officially
C1 · Advanced Law Formal
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.
“The government decided to revoke his passport after he was accused of a crime.”
“The licensing board threatened to revoke the clinic's operating permit if the safety violations were not addressed immediately.”
02card games
C2 · Proficiency Technical
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.
“He accidentally revoked during the bridge game, which cost his team the round.”
“In competitive bridge, if a player is found to have revoked, the opposing team is typically awarded penalty tricks.”
Synonyms
03a rule violation in cards
C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Technical
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.
“The referee noted a revoke in the third hand of the tournament.”
“A revoke is considered a serious procedural error that can invalidate the results of a specific round of play.”
Synonyms
Usage
The verb is transitive and typically takes objects like 'license', 'permit', 'privilege', or 'offer'.
Pitfall
The law was revoked by the people.
The law was repealed by the people.
While 'revoke' is used for specific licenses or individual privileges, 'repeal' is the more accurate term for the legislative cancellation of a law.
Real-World Examples
“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.” Etymology
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.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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