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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Cancel: Definition, Usage & Key Examples (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：call off (cancel)

cancel 🔊

/ˈkæns(ə)l/

To decide that something that was planned will not happen.

Cancel concept illustration: hand drawing a red X over a flight itinerary.

call off 🔊

➕

/ˈkɔːl ˈɒf/

To officially decide that a pre-arranged event or agreement will not take place or be valid.

📁 Category：Social Roles, Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'cancellare' meaning to make like a lattice, cross out.

💡 Mnemonic

CAN't do it, so you CELL (cancel) the plan. Picture crossing a 'can' out with an 'X'.

📖 Example

I'm so sorry, but we have to cancel tomorrow's picnic because of the stormy weather forecast. 🔊 We must call off the picnic scheduled for tomorrow due to the predicted storm.

🔗 Collocations

cancel a reservation – to officially revoke a booking for a service like a hotel or restaurant

cancel a subscription – to end a recurring service or membership agreement

cancel at the last minute – to call something off with very little advance notice

🔄 Synonyms

call off (phrasal verb) – to decide that a planned event will not happen

abort (v.) – to stop a process or activity before it is completed

scrub (v. (informal)) – to cancel or call off, often used for missions or launches

🚫 Antonyms

confirm (v.) – to state or show that something is definite or true, like a booking

proceed (v.) – to begin or continue a course of action

🌱 Derivatives

cancellation (n.) – the act of cancelling something or an instance of being cancelled

cancellable (adj.) – able to be cancelled

📖 Cultural Story

Originates from Latin 'cancellare', which meant to cross out writing with lines like a lattice ('cancelli'). This evolved into the legal and administrative sense of voiding documents, leading to its modern meaning of nullifying plans or agreements. Today, it's central to consumer rights in phrases like 'cancel a subscription' or 'cancel culture' debates.

Meaning 2：neutralize (cancel)

cancel 🔊

/ˈkæns(ə)l/

To have an equal but opposite effect on something, so that there is no real change or benefit.

neutralize 🔊

➕

/ˈnjuːtrəlaɪz/

To have an equal and opposite effect, rendering the original action or condition void or without impact.

📁 Category：Physical & Mental Health 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The benefits of walking for 30 minutes are completely cancelled out if you then drink a large sugary soda. 🔊 The positive effects of a 30-minute walk are entirely neutralized by consuming a large sugary drink afterwards.

🔗 Collocations

cancel out – (phrasal verb) to neutralize the effect of something

cancel each other out – when two opposing forces or effects negate one another

🔄 Synonyms

neutralize (v.) – to make something ineffective by applying an opposite force or effect

offset (v.) – to counterbalance or compensate for something

negate (v.) – to nullify or make ineffective

🚫 Antonyms

amplify (v.) – to increase the effect or strength of something