void

1. noun

the void of space

Syn:

vacuum, emptiness, nothingness, nullity, blankness, vacuity; empty space, blank space, space, gap, cavity, chasm, abyss, gulf, pit, black hole

2. verb

the contract was voided

Syn:

invalidate, annul, nullify; negate, quash, cancel, countermand, repeal, revoke, rescind, retract, withdraw, reverse, undo, abolish; Law vacate; formal abrogate

Ant:

validate

3. adjective

1)

vast void spaces

Syn:

empty, vacant, blank, bare, clear, free, unfilled, unoccupied, uninhabited

Ant:

full

2)

a country void of man or beast

Syn:

devoid of, empty of, vacant of, bereft of, free from; lacking, wanting, without, with nary a

Ant:

occupied

3)

the election was void

Syn:

invalid, null, ineffective, nonviable, useless, worthless, nugatory

Ant:

valid

••

void, abrogate, annul, invalidate, negate, nullify

To void a check, to invalidate a claim, to abrogate a law, and to annul a marriage all refer to the same basic activity, which is putting an end to something or depriving it of validity, force, or authority. But these verbs are not always interchangeable. Annul is the most general term, meaning to end something that exists or to declare that it never really existed (the charter was annulled before it could be challenged). Abrogate implies the exercise of legal authority (Congress abrogated the treaty between the two warring factions), while nullify means to deprive something of its value or effectiveness (nullify the enemy's attempt to establish communications). Void and invalidate are often used interchangeably as they both mean to make null or worthless (void a legal document by tearing it up; invalidate a check by putting the wrong date on it). Negate means to prove an assertion false (her version of the story negated everything her brother had said) or to nullify or make something ineffective (the study's findings were negated by its author's arrest for fraud).