English

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Etymology

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From dis- +‎ allowance and disallow +‎ -ance; may be analyzed as dis- +‎ allow +‎ -ance.

Noun

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disallowance (countable and uncountable, plural disallowances)

  1. The action of not allowing, or of withdrawing allowance.
    • 1981 December 19, Andrew C. Irish, “Support For Gay Nurses”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 22, page 4:
      The currently advocated Family Protection Act, which thinly veneers its discriminatory attitudes about strict social conformity and the 'disallowance of individual choice with a stated concern for today's social fabric.
  2. (law, politics) A power a higher level authority has to disallow particular legislation of the lower level jurisdiction; such as a federal government disallowing state/provincial legislation, or the British monarch disallowing colonial legislation.
    Coordinate term: reservation
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Further reading

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