cancel out

Idioms and Phrases

Neutralize the effect of, offset, render void. For example, Anne's kindness to her neighbor could not cancel out her irritability . The verb cancel was used in this way by itself from the late 1400s; out was added in the early 1900s.

Example Sentences

It's the same idea: Give men extra votes, so they can cancel out women's votes.

From Salon

The inability to land a superstar — and, in fairness, Zaidi did land Carlos Correa before the Giants called off the deal because of concerns raised by a physical examination — canceled out one of Zaidi’s strengths.

From Los Angeles Times

Grief and loss didn’t cancel out the sheer absurdity of human behavior.

From Los Angeles Times

As soon as that ended, Fox anchors and guests canceled out Hannity as they mulled what an embarrassing night it had been for their man.

From Salon

"To cancel out the noise and to just start focusing on what really matters for her now, which is her family and being a mother."

From Salon

Related Words

• annihilate
• belie
• disallow
• disprove
• invalidate
• neutralize
• nullify
• rebut
• reverse
• undo
• vitiate
• void