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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.
Synonyms
Examples of rescind in a Sentence
Kai Bird et al., Smithsonian, Aug. 2005
But 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. 1994
The 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 Eventually, the Navy rescinded its ban.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The navy rescinded its ban on women sailors.
The company later rescinded its offer.
Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024
The budget plan would rescind government funding of renewable energy technologies and block EPA rule-making aimed at reducing automobile emissions, a contributor to global warming.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 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
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
1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Rescind.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rescind. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
rescind
verb
Legal Definition
rescind
verb
Latin rescindere to cut loose, annul, from re- away, back + scindere to cut, split
More from Merriam-Webster on rescind
Nglish: Translation of rescind for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of rescind for Arabic Speakers
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