cancelable

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

can•cel /ˈkænsəl/   v., -celed, -cel•ing or (esp. Brit.) -celled, -cel•ling. 

1. to make no longer valid, etc.;
   remove or call back:
   [~ + object] The general canceled all military leaves.
2. to decide or announce that (a planned event) will not take place;
   call off:
   [~ + object] She canceled the picnic.
3. Stamps to mark with lines or to put holes in (a check, postage stamp, etc.) so as to prevent reuse:
   [~ + object* often: be + ~-ed] The check had been canceled.
4. [~ + object] to balance;
   make up for:
   His sincere apology canceled his sarcastic remark.
5. Mathematics (in mathematics) to eliminate (a number or variable) by drawing a line through a factor that is common to both the denominator and numerator of a fraction or to equivalent terms on opposite sides of an equation:
   [~ + object] To reduce a fraction you cancel the factors that are common in the top and the bottom.
6. [~ + object] to cross out (words, etc.) by drawing a line through the item.
7. cancel out, to (cause to) balance or compensate for one another: [no object]
   The two opposing forces cancel out.
   [~ + object + out]
   The two armies cancel each other out.
   [~ + out + object]
   One effect of the force cancels out the other.

can•cel•er;
esp. Brit., can•cel•ler, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

can•cel  (kan′səl), v., -celed, -cel•ing or (esp. Brit.) -celled, -cel•ling, n. 
v.t. 

1. to make void;
   revoke;
   annul:
   to cancel a reservation.
2. to decide or announce that a planned event will not take place;
   call off:
   to cancel a meeting.
3. Stamps to mark or perforate (a postage stamp, admission ticket, etc.) so as to render invalid for reuse.
4. to neutralize;
   counterbalance;
   compensate for:
   His sincere apology canceled his sarcastic remark.
5. Business [Accountableing.]
   • to close (an account) by crediting or paying all outstanding charges:
     He plans to cancel his account at the department store.
   • to eliminate or offset (a debit, credit, etc.) with an entry for an equal amount on the opposite side of a ledger, as when a payment is received on a debt.
6. Mathematics to eliminate by striking out a factor common to both the denominator and numerator of a fraction, equivalent terms on opposite sides of an equation, etc.
7. to cross out (words, letters, etc.) by drawing a line over the item.
8. Printing to omit.

v.i. 

9. to counterbalance or compensate for one another;
   become neutralized (often fol. by out):
   The pros and cons cancel out.
10. Mathematics (of factors common to both the denominator and numerator of a fraction, certain terms on opposite sides of an equation, etc.) to be equivalent;
    to allow cancellation.

n. 

11. an act of canceling.
12. Printing
    • omission.
    • a replacement for an omitted part.

• Medieval Latin cancellāre to cross out, Latin: to make like a lattice, derivative of cancellī grating, plural of cancellus; see cancellus
• Middle English cancellen 1350–1400

can′cel•a•ble*  [esp. Brit.,] can′cel•la•ble, adj. 
can′cel•er;
 [esp. Brit.,] can′cel•ler, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. countermand, rescind.
• 3, 7. Cancel, delete, erase, obliterate indicate that something is no longer to be considered usable or in force. To cancel is to cross something out by stamping a mark over it, drawing lines through it, or the like:
  to cancel a stamp, a word.
  To delete is to cross something out from written matter or from matter to be printed, often in accordance with a printer's or proofreader's symbol indicating the material is to be omitted:
  to delete part of a line.
  To erase is to remove by scraping or rubbing:
  to erase a capital letter.
  To obliterate is to blot out entirely, so as to remove all sign or trace of:
  to obliterate a record.