countermand

[ verb koun-ter-mand, -mahnd, koun-ter-mand, -mahnd; noun koun-ter-mand, -mahnd ]

verb (used with object)

1. to revoke or cancel (a command, order, etc.).

   Synonyms: recall, overrule, abrogate, rescind

2. to recall or stop by a contrary order.

noun

1. a command, order, etc., revoking a previous one.

countermand

verb

1. to revoke or cancel (a command, order, etc)
2. to order (forces, etc) to return or retreat; recall

noun

1. a command revoking another

Other Words From

• counter·manda·ble adjective
• uncoun·ter·manda·ble adjective
• uncoun·ter·manded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of countermand¹

1375–1425; late Middle English countermaunden < Anglo-French countermander < Middle French contremander, equivalent to contre- counter- + mander to command < Latin mandāre; mandate

Word History and Origins

Origin of countermand¹

C15: from Old French contremander, from contre- counter- + mander to command, from Latin mandāre; see mandate

Example Sentences

But several policing experts said that creating that kind of training presented a challenge because countermanding orders from an incident commander went against the very orientation of most police departments.

From New York Times

Prelogar’s petition said both the judge in Texas and the 5th Circuit countermanded the FDA’s scientific judgment and would unleash “regulatory chaos.”

From Washington Post

Prelogar’s petition said both the Texas judge and the 5th Circuit countermanded FDA’s scientific judgment and would unleash “regulatory chaos.”

From Washington Post

“This application concerns unprecedented lower court orders countermanding FDA’s scientific judgment and unleashing regulatory chaos by suspending the existing FDA-approved conditions of use for mifepristone,” wrote Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar.

From Washington Times

“Where the F.D.A. determines, in accordance with its statutory mandate, that a drug is on balance ‘safe,’” he wrote, the court’s precedents “prohibit any state from countermanding that determination.”

From New York Times