repeal
/ɹəˈpiːl/verb, noun
repeal is a verb meaning “To cancel, invalidate, annul” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled R-E-P-E-A-L and has 2 syllables, and it appears 7.4 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does repeal mean?
verb
- 1
To cancel, invalidate, annul.
to repeal a law
- 2
To recall; to summon (a person) again; to bring (a person) back from exile or banishment.
- 3
To suppress; to repel.
noun
- 1
An act or instance of repealing.
Wednesday June 02, 2021, Has the Northern Ireland Protocol undermined the United Kingdom? When a newer Act of Parliament is incompatible with earlier law, it usually takes precedence, under the doctrine of “implied repeal”.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce repeal?
- US /ɹəˈpiːl/
Repeal has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-repeal.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of repeal
- repeals present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- repealing participle, present
- repealed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is repeal?
Repeal appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Repeal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to cancel:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abroger, annuler, révoquer |
| German | annullieren |
| Portuguese | revogar, anular |
| Spanish | derogar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does repeal come from?
From Anglo-Norman repeler, from Old French rapeler (“to call back, call in, call after, revoke”), from Latin repellō (“drive or thrust back”), from re- and pellō (“push or strike”). Doublet of repel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).