nullification

[nuhl-uh-fi-key-shuhn] Example Sentences

nul·li·fi·ca·tion

[nuhl-uh-fi-key-shuhn]
noun
1.
an act or instance of nullifying.
2.
the state of being nullified.
3.
(often initial capital letter) the failure or refusal of a U.S. state to aid in enforcement of federal laws within its limits, especially on Constitutional grounds.

Origin:
1620–30; < Late Latin nūllificātiōn- (stem of nūllificātiō) contempt, equivalent to nūllificāt(us) (past participle of nūllificāre to despise) + -iōn- -ion. See nullify

nul·li·fi·ca·tion·ist, nul·li·fi·ca·tor, noun
non·nul·li·fi·ca·tion, noun
re·nul·li·fi·ca·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To nullification

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Nullification has a plethora of syllables.
So is cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine. Does it mean:
a white, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, C14H9Cl5, usually derived from chloral by reaction with chlorobenzene in the presence of fuming sulfuric acid: used as an insecticide and as a scabicide and pediculicide: agricultural use prohibited in the U.S.
a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, powerful high explosive, C3H6N6O6, used chiefly in bombs and shells.
Example Sentences
  • The truly unified field must be a nullification of all energy, without any space or time whatsoever.
  • He warned that radicals might try to burn ballot boxes, risking nullification of the vote.
  • But none of these compare to the mindless nullification of these thumb-sucking stooges.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
nullify (ˈnʌlɪˌfaɪ)
 
vb , -fies, -fying, -fied
1.  to render legally void or of no effect
2.  to render ineffective or useless; cancel out
 
[C16: from Late Latin nullificāre to despise, from Latin nullus of no account + facere to make]
 
nullifi'cation
 
n
 
'nullifier
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

nullification definition


The doctrine that states can set aside federal laws. Urged in the late 1820s by John C. Calhoun, nullification precipitated a crisis between Calhoun and President Andrew Jackson. The doctrine was foreshadowed by Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Kentucky Resolutions. (See Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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