What does voidable mean?
Voidable is a legal adjective meaning that something can be made void, cancelled, or annulled. It most often describes contracts, leases, transactions, and other legally binding arrangements. The important distinction is between an agreement that is voidable and one that is void: a voidable agreement may still have legal force unless a court or another authorized process determines that it should be invalidated. For example, a contract entered into under duress may be voidable. The term is formal and is most familiar in legal and administrative contexts. It is also sometimes used more broadly for anything that can be cancelled, although its standard application is legal. In general writing, “voidable” conveys the possibility of reversal rather than the idea that the arrangement never had any validity in the first place.
adjectiveCapable of being voided, cancelled, or annulled, especially in law. A voidable agreement or transaction is generally valid unless it is legally invalidated.
- Legally capable of being voided, cancelled, or annulled.
"The judge ruled that the contract was voidable because it had been entered into under duress."
"The tenant argued that the lease was voidable because the landlord had failed to disclose a structural defect."
"Because the agreement was voidable, either party could withdraw from it before it was formally executed."
The difference between “void” and “voidable” can determine whether a promise survives or can still be cancelled.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does voidable come from?
Voidable was formed in English by adding the suffix “-able” to “void.” The word “void” came into English through Anglo-French from Latin, where it was associated with vacuus, meaning “empty,” and with vacare, “to be empty.” The same Latin family produced cognates including vacant, vacuum, and evacuate.
Related word forms
How voidable is actually used
This is primarily a formal legal term. It is especially common in contract, property, and administrative law, where it describes an agreement or transaction that has a legal ground for cancellation but is not automatically invalid.
Easily confused with voidable
A voidable contract is legally valid until it is annulled, whereas a void contract is invalid from the outset.
Avoidable describes something that can be prevented, while voidable describes something that can be legally cancelled or annulled.