What does annulled mean?
'Annulled' is the past form of the verb 'annul,' meaning formally declared invalid or void. When something is annulled — most commonly a marriage, but also contracts, treaties, or decrees — an authoritative body such as a court or church tribunal rules that it was never legally binding in the first place. This distinguishes annulment from termination: a divorce ends a marriage that once existed, while an annulled marriage is treated as having never validly occurred. The word carries a distinctly formal, legal register and rarely appears in casual conversation. Its roots reach back to Latin 'ad nihilum' ('to nothing'), via Old French 'anuller,' reflecting the very idea at its core: reducing an agreement to legal nonexistence. Annulment remains significant today in family law and in canon law, where the Catholic Church's granting of an annulment allows a person to remarry within the faith.
verb (past participle and past tense of annul)Formally declared invalid, void, or legally nonexistent — as when a court or authority nullifies a marriage, contract, or other agreement so that it is treated as though it never existed.
- To have a marriage declared legally void, as though it never existed
- To have a contract, treaty, or other formal agreement rendered null and invalid
"The court annulled the marriage after discovering it had been based on fraudulent documents."
"The Church granted an annulment, declaring that the marriage had never been validly contracted."
"The treaty was annulled within months of its signing, its provisions struck from the record."
An annulled marriage isn't just ended — in the eyes of canon law, it's treated as if it never happened at all.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of annulled
'Annulled' derives from the verb 'annul,' which entered English from Old French 'anuller' (from late Latin 'annullare'), ultimately rooted in the Latin phrase 'ad nihilum' — 'to bring to nothing.' The same Latin root gave rise to related words such as 'annuity' and 'annual,' all built on the Latin 'annus' or associated with reduction to nothing. English use of 'annul' is attested from the late medieval period, and the past participle 'annulled' has long served in legal and ecclesiastical language.
Related word forms
How annulled is actually used
Formal and legal in register; 'annulled' appears almost exclusively in legal, ecclesiastical, or official contexts. In everyday speech, people more often say 'voided' or 'called off.' The distinction between annulment and divorce matters greatly in religious contexts, particularly within Catholicism.
Easily confused with annulled
A divorce ends a valid marriage, whereas an annulled marriage is declared to have been legally void from the start.
Cancellation typically stops a future arrangement, while annulment retroactively declares an existing agreement to have never been legally valid.