Annulment

/əˈnʌlmənt/ noun

Definition

A legal action that cancels a marriage as if it never happened, or the canceling of something.

Etymology

From Latin 'annullare' meaning 'to reduce to nothing,' from 'ad-' (to) plus 'nullus' (nothing). The word literally means 'making null' or 'making nothing' of something.

Kelly Says

An annulment is legally different from a divorce—it says the marriage was invalid from the start, like it never existed. The Latin root 'nullus' (nothing) also gives us 'null' and 'nullify'!

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.