nullification

plural nullifications

1. countableuncountableThe act of nullifying; a rendering void and of no effect, or no legal effect.

   Mason and I had an entirely civil debate about the merits of nullification versus an official "apology" for what had been done to Oppenheimer. I argued that an apology was not sufficient and that nullification was required precisely to restore the integrity of the security-review system.

   2023 July 7, Kai Bird, “Oppenheimer, Nullified and Vindicated”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 Aug 2023

   Synonyms: abolition, annulment, devalidation, abolition, abrogation, annulment, cancellation, deauthentication

2. countableuncountableThe nullification crisis in U.S. history, confrontation between the state of South Carolina and the federal government in 1832–33 over the former's attempt to declare null and void within the state the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832.

   He infused the threat with credibility, and the nullification movement fizzled, though Jackson also helped craft a compromise reduction in tariff rates to somewhat mollify South Carolinians.

   2016 October 19, Robert W. Merry, “America's History of Protectionism”, in The National Interest, Washington, D.C.: Center for the National Interest, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Jul 2025

3. countableneologismuncountableSurgical removal of genitals (and sometimes nipples) as a form of body modification.

   Surgeons talk about procedures that result in bodies that don't exist in nature: those with both sets of genitals – the "phallus-preserving vaginoplasty"; double mastectomies that don't have nipples; "nullification" surgery, where there are no genitals at all, just smooth skin.

   2024 March 9, Hannah Barnes, “Why disturbing leaks from US gender group WPATH ring alarm bells in the NHS”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2024