Literary notes about Nullify (AI summary)
The term "nullify" serves as a powerful tool in literature to denote the act of canceling, overturning, or rendering ineffective. In legal and political discourse it is used to discuss the abrogation of laws or authorities—as when a state seeks to nullify a federal statute or an act of Congress [1, 2, 3]—while in poetic and narrative texts it assumes a more figurative role, expressing the neutralization of personal emotions or external influences, such as dispelling hate or undermining a personal concession [4, 5, 6]. At times, its usage even extends into technical realms, where it describes the blocking or negating of physical or metaphorical forces, as in efforts to nullify a heat beam or dampen vibrations [7, 8]. This versatility underscores its literary potency: whether addressing the cancellation of legal rights, the quashing of personal sentiments, or the interruption of disruptive actions, "nullify" consistently conveys a decisive undoing, an act that leaves no trace of what once was.
- Jefferson, Thomas, on the independence of Federal judges, 68 , 73 note , 100 note ; on the right of a state to nullify a federal law, 173 .
— from The Spirit of American GovernmentA Study Of The Constitution: Its Origin, Influence AndRelation To Democracy by J. Allen (James Allen) Smith - Such a provision would have left no room for the doctrine of state rights, or its corollary—the power of a state to nullify a Federal law.
— from The Spirit of American GovernmentA Study Of The Constitution: Its Origin, Influence AndRelation To Democracy by J. Allen (James Allen) Smith - The question under debate was the right of a state to nullify the acts of Congress.
— from Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth Century by Charles Morris - Augment my patience, nullify my hate, Preserve my issue, and inspire my mate; Yet, though we perish, bless this Church and State.
— from A Household Book of English PoetrySelected and Arranged with Notes - Charles went back to London, and plotted to nullify his concessions.
— from Oliver Cromwell and the Rule of the Puritans in England by C. H. (Charles Harding) Firth - His feeling for those who had been thrust out sanctioned her remorse; he could not try to nullify it, yet his heart was full of pity for her.
— from Daniel Deronda by George Eliot - The NX-1 swung around, always maintaining a slight forward motion and zigzagging constantly to nullify the heat beam.
— from Astounding Stories, February, 1931 by Various - They also fulfil another purpose, they help nullify the high self-induction of the secondary coil by adding capacity to it.
— from Induction Coils, How to Make, Use, and Repair Them.
Including Ruhmkorff, Tesla, and Medical Coils, Roentgen Radiography, Etc. Etc. by H. S. Norrie