Rescind and the lesser-known words exscind and prescind all come from the Latin verb scindere, which means "to cut" or "to split." Rescind was adapted from its Latin predecessor rescindere in the 16th century, and prescind (from praescindere) and exscind (from exscindere) followed in the next century. Exscind means "to cut off" or "to excise," and prescind means "to withdraw one's attention," but of the three borrowings, only rescind established itself as a common English term. Today, rescind is most often heard in contexts having to do with someone rescinding a contract or an offer, or with a legislative body rescinding a law.
The enemies these efforts made for him concocted charges of disloyalty, and following a hearing before the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954, Oppenheimer's security clearance was rescinded.—Kai Bird et al., Smithsonian, Aug. 2005But Maria convinced Leverich that she had the authority to rescind the executor's decision to appoint him as biographer.—John Lahr, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 1994The Navy barred its personnel from his church, but he challenged the decree in federal court as a constitutional violation of freedom of religion. Eventually, the Navy rescinded its ban.—Randall Samborn, National Law Journal, 14 Jan. 1991
The navy rescinded its ban on women sailors.
The company later rescinded its offer.
Recent Examples on the WebThese include a January 2017 Trump order that required federal agencies to rescind two regulations for each new one issued and to impose zero new net regulatory costs on the economy.—Alden Abbott, Forbes, 22 Sep. 2024 Howard University cut ties with Combs, rescinding an honorary degree that was awarded to him and disbanding a scholarship program in his name as a result.—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 18 Sep. 2024 The Biden administration rescinded the environmental impact statement in March 2021 for further consultation with tribes.—Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 11 Sep. 2024 Manuel told Hirth in the letter that the university was open to rescinding its potential termination of the official retailer deal if M-Den could immediately provide U-M with a $6.4 million bank check.—Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, 10 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for rescind
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rescind.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French rescinder "to reduce, cut, cancel, break (a contract)," borrowed from Latin rescindere "to remove or lay bare by hewing and cutting, cut or tear open, cancel, annul," from re-re- + scindere "to split, cleave, separate" — more at shed entry 1
: to abrogate (a contract or transaction) by mutual agreement, judicial decree, or unilateral declaration because of fraud, mistake, duress, misrepresentation, illegality, a breach, or another sufficient ground with both parties restored to their positions before the contract was made compare cancel, terminate
3
: to make void by the same or by a superior authority
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