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Rescind and the lesser-known words exscind and prescind all come from the Latin verb scindere, which means “to split, cleave, separate.” 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 the withdrawal of an offer, award, or privilege, or with invalidation of a law or policy.
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 Eventually, the Navy rescinded its ban.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The navy rescinded its ban on women sailors.
The company later rescinded its offer.
Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
Federal funds expected by food banks and public radio and television stations have been rescinded, putting a major dent in their budgets.
—Mimi Whitefield, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025
The state rescinded a round-one grant in the same amount in September, because Palomar, working through its charitable foundation, was unable to meet a 10% funding match for the award.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
Murrill is attempting a new spin on a suit against the FDA brought by a group of Texas doctors who also wanted the agency to restore previous restrictions on the pills, including requiring in-person visits, and rescind the policy allowing mail-order access.
—Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 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 31 Oct. 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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