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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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in 1933, Congress passed the 21st Amendment which repealed the Prohibition Amendment of 1919, thus making the sale, distribution, and use of alcohol legal once again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of repeal
Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2026
And 2024 saw mercury and other contaminant standards repealed, Thompson said.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 22 Apr. 2026
CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026
In February, Zeldin announced a repeal of the endangerment finding, the legal basis by which the government regulates greenhouse gas emissions.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for repeal
Verb
Residents called on the council to repeal the ordinance due to the perception that these starter home projects are displacing existing homes and changing the character of single-family neighborhoods.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2026
And 2024 saw mercury and other contaminant standards repealed, Thompson said.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 22 Apr. 2026
Noun
The repeal eliminates 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.
—CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026
In February, Zeldin announced a repeal of the endangerment finding, the legal basis by which the government regulates greenhouse gas emissions.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for repeal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for repeal
Verb
-
They were also evacuated soon afterward, and the event canceled, to be rescheduled.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The annual dinner was later canceled and will be rescheduled.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In April 2025, a motley crew gathered in New York City for a conference at Columbia University on abolishing the infinite.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Connecticut did not abolish enslaving people until 1848.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The program calls for the recognition of Israel and renouncing armed struggle, effectively sidelining Hamas and other factions.—
SAM METZ,
Arkansas Online,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The program calls for the recognition of Israel and renouncing armed struggle, effectively sidelining Hamas and other factions.—
Sam Metz,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Norse Atlantic Airways announced this week the cancellation of all its summer flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Airlines may cite fuel shortages or rising fuel costs as the reason for cancellations.—
Rio Yamat,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Establishment of federal observers The key contribution of the Voting Rights Act that Americans are typically taught about in school is its abolition of racial discrimination in voting.—
Allison Mashell Mitchell,
The Conversation,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The temperance, abolition, and civil-rights movements in America were all motivated in part by religious convictions.—
Luis Parrales,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
If the Eagles don’t fully abandon that style, Campbell could fit in nicely.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Just a few years later, in the fall of 2019, mountaineer Garrett Madison abandoned an Everest expedition due to another serac causing unsafe conditions in the Khumbu Icefall.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
About $589 million in revenue generated from the tax has not been used, which in part is due to a lack of flexibility in how the money can be used, as well as due to legal concerns amid a threat to overturn the initiative.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Family members said it’s been a long road of frustration, agony and sadness watching Hitchcock’s death sentences get overturned three times amid the nearly a dozen appeals his attorneys have filed over the decades.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In September 2025, the City Council voted to explore whether Los Angeles could withdraw all legally allowable homelessness funding from LAHSA and instead contract with the county’s new homelessness department.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The many attending assistants around her eventually disperse — a little hesitantly because Sam is in the middle of preparing a new show — and the two withdraw to Sam’s cavernous studio.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Repeal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repeal. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
