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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.
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 Eventually, the Navy rescinded its ban.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The navy rescinded its ban on women sailors.
The company later rescinded its offer.
Gene Maddaus, Variety, 10 May 2025
Additionally, funding for the City Parks Foundation, which operates SummerStage, the annual public summer festival held in Central Park that features a lineup of Yiddish music, was rescinded.
—Jackie Hajdenberg, Sun Sentinel, 8 May 2025
Initially, the Senate filed a motion to dissent from the House amendments to the bill, but the dissent was rescinded two days before the end of session and a concurrence was filed.
—Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in March that at least 300 students studying at American universities have had their visas rescinded after they were accused of expressing support for Palestinians or participating in campus protests.
—Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rescind
Cite this Entry
“Rescind.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rescind. Accessed 16 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rescind
verb
Legal Definition
rescind
verb
Latin rescindere to cut loose, annul, from re- away, back + scindere to cut, split
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