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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CANCEL, v.t.
1. To cross the lines of a writing, and deface them; to blot out or obliterate.
2. To annul, or destroy; as, to cancel an obligation or a debt.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a notation cancelling a previous sharp or flat [syn: natural, cancel] v
1: postpone indefinitely or annul something that was scheduled; "Call off the engagement"; "cancel the dinner party"; "we had to scrub our vacation plans"; "scratch that meeting--the chair is ill" [syn: cancel, call off, scratch, scrub]
2: make up for; "His skills offset his opponent's superior strength" [syn: cancel, offset, set off]
3: declare null and void; make ineffective; "Cancel the election results"; "strike down a law" [syn: cancel, strike down]
4: remove or make invisible; "Please delete my name from your list" [syn: delete, cancel]
5: make invalid for use; "cancel cheques or tickets" [syn: cancel, invalidate]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (-celed or -celled; -celing or cancelling) Etymology: Middle English cancellen, from Anglo-French canceller, chanceller, from Late Latin cancellare, from Latin, to make like a lattice, from cancelli (plural), diminutive of cancer lattice, probably alteration of carcer prison Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to destroy the force, effectiveness, or validity of ; annul <cancel a magazine subscription> <a canceled check> b. to bring to nothingness ; destroy c. to match in force or effect ; offset — often used with out <his irritability canceled out his natural kindness — Osbert Sitwell> d. to call off usually without expectation of conducting or performing at a later time <cancel a football game> 2. a. to mark or strike out for deletion b. omit, delete 3. a. to remove (a common divisor) from numerator and denominator b. to remove (equivalents) on opposite sides of an equation or account 4. to deface (a postage or revenue stamp) especially with a set of ink lines so as to invalidate for reuse intransitive verb to neutralize each other's strength or effect ; counterbalance • cancelable or cancellable adjective • canceler or canceller noun II. noun Date: 1806 1. cancellation 2. a. a deleted part or passage b. (1) a leaf containing matter to be deleted (2) a new leaf or slip substituted for matter already printed

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. (cancelled, cancelling; US canceled, canceling) 1 tr. a withdraw or revoke (a previous arrangement). b discontinue (an arrangement in progress). 2 tr. obliterate or delete (writing etc.). 3 tr. mark or pierce (a ticket, stamp, etc.) to invalidate it. 4 tr. annul; make void; abolish. 5 (often foll. by out) a tr. (of one factor or circumstance) neutralize or counterbalance (another). b intr. (of two factors or circumstances) neutralize each other. 6 tr. Math. strike out (an equal factor) on each side of an equation or from the numerator and denominator of a fraction. --n. 1 a countermand. 2 the cancellation of a postage stamp. 3 Printing a new page or section inserted in a book to replace the original text, usu. to correct an error. 4 Mus. US a natural-sign. Derivatives: canceller n. Etymology: ME f. F canceller f. L cancellare f. cancelli crossbars, lattice

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cancel Can"cel, n. [See Cancel, v. i., and cf. Chancel.] 1. An inclosure; a boundary; a limit. [Obs.] A prison is but a retirement, and opportunity of serious thoughts, to a person whose spirit . . . desires no enlargement beyond the cancels of the body. --Jer. Taylor. 2. (Print) (a) The suppression or striking out of matter in type, or of a printed page or pages. (b) The part thus suppressed.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cancel Can"cel, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Canceled or Cancelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Canceling or Cancelling.] [L. cancellare to make like a lattice, to strike or cross out (cf. Fr. canceller, OF. canceler) fr. cancelli lattice, crossbars, dim. of cancer lattice; cf. Gr. ? latticed gate. Cf. Chancel.] 1. To inclose or surround, as with a railing, or with latticework. [Obs.] A little obscure place canceled in with iron work is the pillar or stump at which . . . our Savior was scourged. --Evelyn. 2. To shut out, as with a railing or with latticework; to exclude. [Obs.] ``Canceled from heaven.'' --Milton. 3. To cross and deface, as the lines of a writing, or as a word or figure; to mark out by a cross line; to blot out or obliterate. A deed may be avoided by delivering it up to be cancelled; that is, to have lines drawn over it in the form of latticework or cancelli; though the phrase is now used figuratively for any manner of obliterating or defacing it. --Blackstone. 4. To annul or destroy; to revoke or recall. The indentures were canceled. --Thackeray. He was unwilling to cancel the interest created through former secret services, by being refractory on this occasion. --Sir W. Scott. 5. (Print.) To suppress or omit; to strike out, as matter in type. Canceled figures (Print), figures cast with a line across the face., as for use in arithmetics. Syn: To blot out; obliterate; deface; erase; efface; expunge; annul; abolish; revoke; abrogate; repeal; destroy; do away; set aside. See Abolish.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(cancels, cancelling, cancelled) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Note: in AM, use 'canceling', 'canceled' 1. If you cancel something that has been arranged, you stop it from happening. If you cancel an order for goods or services, you tell the person or organization supplying them that you no longer wish to receive them. The Russian foreign minister yesterday cancelled his visit to Washington... Many trains have been cancelled and a limited service is operating on other lines... There is normally no refund should a client choose to cancel. VERB: V n, V n, V • cancellation (cancellations) Outbursts of violence forced the cancellation of Haiti's first free elections in 1987. ...passengers who suffer delays and cancellations on planes, trains, ferries and buses. N-VAR: oft N of n 2. If someone in authority cancels a document, an insurance policy, or a debt, they officially declare that it is no longer valid or no longer legally exists. He intends to try to leave the country, in spite of a government order cancelling his passport... She learned her insurance had been canceled by Pacific Mutual Insurance Company... VERB: V n, V n • cancellation ...a march by groups calling for cancellation of Third World debt. N-UNCOUNT: with supp 3. To cancel a stamp or a cheque means to mark it to show that it has already been used and cannot be used again. The new device can also cancel the check after the transaction is complete. ...cancelled stamps. VERB: V n, V-ed

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Obliterate, efface, erase, expunge, blot, blot out, rub out, scratch out, wipe out. 2. Abrogate, annul, repeal, rescind, revoke, abolish, nullify, quash, set aside, make void.

Moby Thesaurus

KO, abandon, abbreviate, abolish, abolishment, abolition, abort, abridge, abrogate, abrogation, absolve, accent, accent mark, accommodate, adjust, annihilate, annul, annulment, balance, bar, belay, black out, blot, blot out, blotting, blotting out, blue-pencil, bowdlerize, bring to naught, bring to nothing, buffer, call off, cancel out, canceling, cancellation, cassation, cease, censor, character, come to nothing, compensate, compensate for, complete, coordinate, counteract, counterbalance, countermand, counterorder, counterpoise, countervail, cross out, custos, cut, cut it out, declare a moratorium, defeasance, dele, delete, deletion, deny, deracinate, desist, direct, disannul, discontinue, dispose of, do away with, dot, drop, drop it, drop the curtain, edit, edit out, efface, effacement, eliminate, end, end off, equalize, equate, eradicate, erase, erasure, even, even up, expression mark, expunction, expunge, expurgate, extinguish, fermata, finalize, finish, fit, fold up, frustrate, get it over, get over with, get through with, give over, give the quietus, give up, halt, have done with, hold, integrate, invalidate, invalidation, kayo, key signature, kibosh, kill, knock it off, knock out, lay off, lead, leave off, level, ligature, make up for, make void, mark, measure, metronomic mark, negate, negativate, negative, neutralize, notation, nullification, nullify, obliterate, obliteration, offset, omit, override, overrule, pause, perfect, poise, polish off, presa, proportion, put paid to, quash, quit, raze, recall, recant, recantation, redeem, refrain, relinquish, renege, renounce, repeal, repudiate, rescind, rescinding, rescindment, rescission, retract, retraction, reversal, reverse, revocation, revoke, revokement, rub out, rule out, scrag, scratch, scratch out, scrub, scrubbing, segno, set aside, setting aside, shoot down, sign, signature, slur, sponge, sponge out, square, stay, stop, strike, strike a balance, strike off, strike out, stultify, surrender, suspend, suspension, swell, symbol, tempo mark, terminate, thwart, tie, time signature, undo, vacate, vacation, vacatur, vinculum, vitiate, void, voidance, voiding, waive, waiver, waiving, washing out, wipe out, wiping out, withdraw, withdrawal, write off, write-off, zap