Nullified

Nullified is the past participle of nullify, meaning to render something legally invalid, void, or otherwise ineffective; to cancel, revoke, or annul. The term is used across legal, political, contractual, scientific, and technical contexts to describe something made null or of no effect.

In law and governance, to nullify a law, contract, or judgment is to declare it legally void and without effect. Nullification can arise from court decisions, legislative repeal, or executive actions, and it underscores questions of authority and due process. A historical reference is the nullification controversy in the United States, where some argued states could invalidate federal laws, a claim not upheld by the constitutional framework.

In contract law, a contract may be nullified if it is void or voidable, meaning it never formed a valid obligation or can be canceled by law or agreement. Nullification may result from illegality, incapacity, misrepresentation, fraud, or failure of a condition precedent; remedies often include rescission or restoration to pre-contract positions.

In science and statistics, nullification refers to disproof or rejection of the null hypothesis in hypothesis testing, indicating the evidence does not support the default assumption. The term can also describe data or results that have been invalidated or set aside as not applicable.

In computing and data handling, to nullify a value means to set it to a null or missing value, thereby removing any concrete data from that field.

See also: null and void, voidable, rescission, abrogation, invalidation, null hypothesis, null value.