to cancel / devalue
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to cancel
To invalidate a ticket, stamp, or voucher, usually with a stamp, punch, or printed mark. This indicates that it has already been used.
Bitte entwerten Sie Ihre Fahrkarte am Automaten, bevor Sie in den Zug steigen.
Please cancel your ticket at the machine before boarding the train.
to devalue
To reduce or destroy the value or significance of something. This can refer to currencies, material goods, but also to abstract things such as achievements or arguments.
Die hohe Inflation hat die Ersparnisse vieler Menschen stark entwertet.
High inflation has greatly devalued many people's savings.
The verb is made up of the prefix 'ent-' and the noun 'Wert' (value). The prefix 'ent-' here means 'to take away' or 'to cancel out'. So 'entwerten' (to cancel / devalue) literally means to take something's value away.
Durch die Digitalisierung wurden viele alte Medien entwertet.
Digitalization devalued many old media.
'Entwerten' (to cancel / devalue) is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'ent-' is not separated from the verb stem in any sentence form.
Der Schaffner entwertete meine Fahrkarte mit einer Zange.
The conductor canceled my ticket with a punch.
You can recognize the meaning from the object: If it is a ticket, stamp, or voucher, 'entwerten' (to cancel) means making it invalid. If it is money, savings, an achievement, or an argument, the figurative meaning 'to reduce the value' is intended.
Ich habe vergessen, meinen Gutschein vor dem Einkauf zu entwerten.
I forgot to cancel my voucher before shopping.
In the meaning of 'making invalid', the verb is used almost exclusively with objects such as 'Fahrkarte' (travel ticket), 'Ticket' (ticket), 'Briefmarke' (stamp), or 'Gutschein' (voucher). It is often seen as an imperative instruction on machines.
Die alten Briefmarken müssen vor dem Versand entwertet werden.
The old stamps must be canceled before mailing.
to stamp / label
For a paper ticket, abstempeln explicitly refers to the process of stamping it. Entwerten describes the function: the ticket is marked as used, and this can also be done by punching or printing on it. When a stamp is used, both words fit, but entwerten does not specify the method.
Am Bahnhof entwertet Lea ihre Papierfahrkarte am Automaten.
At the station, Lea cancels her paper ticket at the machine.
Am Bahnhof stempelt Lea ihre Papierfahrkarte am Automaten ab.
At the station, Lea stamps her paper ticket at the machine.
