cancel out or make something not count

negate

verb|/nɪˈɡeɪt/

Cancel out or make ineffective

Examples

In a meeting

This error negates all the progress we made last week.

Over coffee

Eating dessert after dinner kind of negates the healthy lunch I had.

Why this word

cancel

Negate means to nullify or make ineffective, often logically, while cancel means to call off or invalidate

deny

Negate emphasizes making something void or proving false, while deny means to refuse or declare untrue

undo

Negate is more formal and emphasizes logical nullification, while undo means to reverse an action

Usage tip

Use when something cancels out or nullifies the effect of something else

Etymology

Latin 'negare' (to deny)

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