Skip to main content
to cancel out

to cancel out

12 4.0
Make one thing stop the effect of another so nothing happens
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈkænsl aʊt/
translation icon : contrarrestar
  • Failing to consider the type of involvement in our study may have canceled out effects.
  • cancel out the effect

So in fact, those two factors cancel out in the perfect gas law.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Unfortunately, the amount of miles we run doesn't necessarily cancel out the calories we eat.

    Blog text (6)
  • George Osborne's Budget yesterday was not expected to cancel out the huge increase in costs.

    Academic text (2011)
  • And so it will cancel out some of its energy and slow it down slightly.

  • The effects roughly cancel out with little net change in cancer risk.

  • So from that point on in the future, all the cash flows cancel out, so I'm done.

  • Cars that run on electricity, meanwhile, suffer from high battery costs that can easily cancel out those cars' lower fuel bills.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Lost foot traffic and reduced sales afterward usually cancel out the initial gains.

    Blog text (11)
  • An independent Jewish state in part of the Jewish homeland does not cancel out the historic right to the whole state.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Each political group, including the so-called Democrats, seeks to cancel out the other.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Rising expenses can cancel out any profits a business makes over time.

Synonyms

to compensate
vsto cancel out
94 3.7

To change something to reduce a problem caused by something else

is more about removing an effect directly rather than making up for it
to counteract
vsto cancel out
47 4.8

To act against something to reduce its effect

tends to be used as a common spoken phrase rather than as a single word
to neutralize
vsto cancel out
39 5.6

To stop an action or effect by acting against it

aims to remove impact rather than produce an equal opposing force
to balance out
vsto cancel out
25 3.5

Make things equal and make up for a lack so nothing is too much or too little

is mainly about removing an effect rather than making things even
to nullify
vsto cancel out
12 6.8

To make something lose its effect or value

reduce or remove effect by acting directly against it
to counterbalance
vsto cancel out
9 5.1

To balance the effect of something by adding an opposite force

focuses on removing impact rather than making two sides equal
to countervail
vsto cancel out
  • Formal
4 9.3

To act against something to reduce its effect

is similar but slightly more formal and less common in speech
to null
vsto cancel out
1 7.8

To make something have no effect or value

expresses the same loss of effect but as a two-word verb phrase
to counterpoise
vsto cancel out
1 9.8

To balance something by acting against it

is more physical or literal than the general action of making something ineffective

Antonyms

424 4.0

Make something better or more attractive

44 4.1

To make something larger, stronger, or more important

How Neutralized

to eliminate
  • NSFW
502 3.4
to cancel out
12 4.0
to offset
104 4.4
to reduce
162 2.1
to diminish
201 3.7

Surface Forms

cancel out infinitive
cancelled out past participle
cancelling out present participle
cancels out third person singular

Morphology

cancel + out

The meaning 'to neutralize or counteract' is directly derivable from 'cancel' (to render null or void) combined with the particle 'out' (giving a sense of complete removal or negation). This verb + particle composition is a common, predictable pattern in English (and parallels exist in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would normally infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Cancel out may come from simple number and force ideas: when two equal but opposite numbers or pushes meet, they take away each other's effect and leave nothing. One cancels the other out, so the phrase means 'to remove an effect'.