Definition

Verb: - To neutralize or offset the effect, force, or value of something; to make something no longer valid or effective by counterbalancing it with an equal and opposite force or factor.

Usage

The verb "cancel out" is used to describe a situation where one thing negates or nullifies the effect of another. It implies a mutual or one-sided counteraction that results in a net effect of zero or a return to a previous state. It is often used in mathematical, scientific, financial, and general contexts.

Examples

• Verb:
  • Adding five and then subtracting five cancels out to zero.
  • The environmental benefits of the new policy are canceled out by its high economic cost.
  • His apology was sincere, but it didn't cancel out the hurt he had caused.
  • The two opposing forces cancel each other out, resulting in no movement.

Advanced Usage

• "to cancel each other out": Used when two or more factors neutralize each other's effects.
  • In the debate, their strong arguments seemed to cancel each other out, leaving the audience undecided.
• "cancel out the noise": Used in technical contexts like audio engineering or physics.
  • Noise-canceling headphones use a microphone to generate a sound wave that cancels out the ambient noise.

Variants and Related Words

• Cancel (verb): To decide or announce that (a planned event) will not take place; to invalidate or annul. (Note: This is the base verb. "Cancel out" is a specific phrasal verb emphasizing neutralization.)
• Negate (verb): To nullify; to make ineffective.
• Offset (verb): To compensate for or counterbalance.
• Neutralize (verb): To make neutral; to counteract the effect of.

Synonyms

• Counterbalance
• Nullify
• Neutralize
• Offset
• Compensate for

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Cancel out is itself a phrasal verb. The base verb "cancel" can form others, but they do not share the specific meaning of neutralization (e.g., means to fail to attend a meeting with them).

Related Idioms

• A wash: An idiom meaning a situation where gains and losses balance each other out, resulting in no net change. This is conceptually similar to the effect of things canceling out.
  • After calculating all the expenses and rebates, the project's financial impact was a wash.

Verb

1. wipe out the effect of something
   • The new tax effectively cancels out my raise
   • The `A' will cancel out the `C' on your record