repealed; repealing; repeals
1
: to rescind or annul by authoritative act
especially
: to revoke or abrogate by legislative enactment
3
obsolete
: to summon to return : recall
repeal
noun
Examples of repeal in a Sentence
the company called the furniture store to repeal the order for six new desks
in 1933, Congress passed the 21st Amendment which repealed the Prohibition Amendment of 1919, thus making the sale, distribution, and use of alcohol legal once again
Recent Examples on the Web
Following Trump’s April 2 speech, McConnell kept his promise to Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and voted for his Senate resolution to repeal the emergency declaration that allowed Trump to place tariffs on Canada.
—
Meredith Kile, People.com, 3 Apr. 2025
The site currently gives a 5 percent chance that Trump will either sign a bill into law aiming to repeal or alter the 22nd Amendment, or that the Supreme Court will rule in a way that allows a president to serve more than two terms by July 31, 2025.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025
Congress should prohibit collective bargaining by federal workers, which would require amending or repealing parts of the CSRA.
—The Editors, National Review, 31 Mar. 2025
Driving the news: Townsend tells Axios that the association plans to call on the DC Council to repeal I-82 before July.
—Anna Spiegel, Axios, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for repeal
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Meredith Kile, People.com, 3 Apr. 2025
The site currently gives a 5 percent chance that Trump will either sign a bill into law aiming to repeal or alter the 22nd Amendment, or that the Supreme Court will rule in a way that allows a president to serve more than two terms by July 31, 2025.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025
Congress should prohibit collective bargaining by federal workers, which would require amending or repealing parts of the CSRA.
—The Editors, National Review, 31 Mar. 2025
Driving the news: Townsend tells Axios that the association plans to call on the DC Council to repeal I-82 before July.
—Anna Spiegel, Axios, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for repeal
Cite this Entry
“Repeal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repeal. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
repeal
verb
re·peal
ri-ˈpē(ə)l 
: to do away with especially by legislative action
repeal a law
repeal
noun
Legal Definition
repeal
transitive verb
re·peal
ri-ˈpēl
: to rescind or annul by authoritative act
especially
: to revoke or abrogate by legislative enactment
legislatures repealing statutes in light of a recent Supreme Court decision
repeal
noun
Etymology
Anglo-French repeler, from Old French, from re- back + apeler to appeal, call, from Latin appellare to address, entreat, call by name
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