1
as in to cancel
to put an end to (something planned or previously agreed to)
the company called the furniture store to repeal the order for six new desks
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2
as in to abolish
to put an end to by formal action
in 1933, Congress passed the 21st Amendment which repealed the Prohibition Amendment of 1919, thus making the sale, distribution, and use of alcohol legal once again
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3
as in to renounce
to solemnly or formally reject or go back on (as something formerly adhered to)
if I find that you have been lying about this, I'll instantly repeal every promise I made to you
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1
as in cancellation
the act of putting an end to something planned or previously agreed to
the long overdue repeal of laws prohibiting interracial marriage
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abolition
the doing away with something by formal action
the repeal of Prohibition during Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of repeal
Matthew Daly, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2026
Shriya Dwivedi, a Phoenix resident who attends the Basis Peoria charter school, was disappointed to hear EPA was about to repeal the endangerment finding.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 12 Feb. 2026
Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 3 Feb. 2026
But because the ban penalizes corporations, not consumers who break the rules, ban-repeal advocates may have a harder time drawing a coalition of cross-partisan support.
—Keith Humphreys, The Atlantic, 2 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for repeal
Verb
Legal challenges are certain for an action that repeals all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks, and could unleash a broader undoing of climate regulations on stationary sources such as power plants and oil and gas facilities, experts say.
—Matthew Daly, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2026
Shriya Dwivedi, a Phoenix resident who attends the Basis Peoria charter school, was disappointed to hear EPA was about to repeal the endangerment finding.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 12 Feb. 2026
Noun
Though framed as a concession to Hoosier communities, the provision replaced a total repeal of sales tax exemptions for data centers that was initially in the bill before it was gutted in the House utilities committee.
—Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 3 Feb. 2026
But because the ban penalizes corporations, not consumers who break the rules, ban-repeal advocates may have a harder time drawing a coalition of cross-partisan support.
—Keith Humphreys, The Atlantic, 2 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for repeal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for repeal
Verb
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To avoid this, cancel and sign in to YouTube on your computer.—
Nicole Acevedo,
NBC news,
8 Feb. 2026
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China retaliated by canceling flights, restricting imports of Japanese seafood and ramping up military patrols, among other measures.—
Yumi Asada,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Hindley, Catherine’s elder brother, is abolished entirely — his vices reassigned to the father.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
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Nexstar is seeking a waiver from the FCC from the 39% cap, while the agency is considering whether to raise that threshold or abolish it altogether.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Born rich, yet sought a life of poverty Born into a merchant family in the Umbrian town of Assisi, in present-day Italy, around 1181, Francis famously renounced his family’s wealth.—
Vanessa Corcoran,
The Conversation,
2 Feb. 2026
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Through the request, Franyelis renounced her claim to seek asylum in the United States and asked Reingold to let her self-deport.—
Maeva Bambuck,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Delays and cancellations in plane travel were also caused by air traffic control issues, which won't happen this time around since the shutdown won't pertain to the Transportation Department.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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The move, however, came after layoffs at HHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the whipsaw cancellation and restoration of $2 billion in funding for its programs in January.—
Dan Vergano,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In 1986, during a summit meeting in Iceland, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan surprised their staffs as well as the world by pledging the abolition of all nuclear weapons.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
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In the past year, their silence broken by the abolition of the police force, residents have started trading stories.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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One is that OpenAI’s board has apparently abandoned its mission of safety.—
Alnoor Ebrahim,
The Conversation,
13 Feb. 2026
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The tech mogul, who helped found OpenAI, sued Altman and the company in 2024, accusing them of abandoning the firm’s founding values and manipulating him into investing in the ChatGPT maker.—
Julia Shapero,
The Hill,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In 2022, the same court overturned a decision by Leon also dealing with military retiree jurisdiction.—
Taylor Seely,
AZCentral.com,
13 Feb. 2026
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Renewables are being deployed aggressively across much of the world even as the US, historically the world’s biggest emitter, overturned a landmark domestic climate ruling.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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However, that petition was later withdrawn in 2025, the complaint said.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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China has invested little in Russia’s economy, and nowhere near the amount that the West withdrew after Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.—
Alan Cullison,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Repeal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repeal. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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