annulment
noun/əˈnʌl.mənt/
Etymology Recorded since the 15th century (sense destruction); from Middle English anullement, partly from annullen (from Middle French annuller, from Latin annūllāre, from ad (“to”) + nūllus (“not any, nothing”) + verbal ending -āre) + -ment (“means to”) (from Latin -mentum) and partly from Middle French annullement. By surface analysis, annul + -ment.
1
An act or instance of annulling.
- marriage annulment
- grant an annulment
3 more examples
- petition for annulment
- The marriage was declared void by an official annulment.
- They sought an annulment instead of a divorce.
2
The state of having been annulled.
3
Law An invalidation of something, especially a legal contract.
4
Catholicism, Christianity, Law A legal (notably judicial) declaration that a marriage is invalid; the procedure leading to it.
5
Archaic Total destruction.
- Derived terms
- disannulment, nonannulment