cease

[sees]

verb (used without object), ceased, ceas·ing.

to stop; discontinue: Not all medieval beliefs have ceased to exist.

to come to an end: At last the war has ceased.

Obsolete. to pass away; die out.

verb (used with object), ceased, ceas·ing.

to put a stop or end to; discontinue: He begged them to cease their quarreling.

noun

cessation: The noise of the drilling went on for hours without cease.

Origin of cease

1250–1300; Middle English ces(s)en < Old French cesser < Latin cessāre to leave off, equivalent to cess(us) (past participle of cēdere to withdraw, go; ced- go + -tus past participle suffix) + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive ending; see cede

Related formsun·ceased, adjective

Synonyms for cease

2. terminate, end, culminate.

Antonyms for cease

1, 2. begin.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ceasing

quit, halt, discontinue, terminate, refrain, desist, fail, finish, end, die, drop, culminate, stay, surcease, close, intermit

Examples from the Web for ceasing

Contemporary Examples of ceasing

Canadians are ceasing to mentally insert the word “junior” whenever they hear an American pronounce the word “partner.”
The Fracking Truth About Canada's Successful Energy Policy
David Frum
August 25, 2012
The answer: Continuation down a suicidal path which ends with Israel ceasing to be a democracy and a Jewish state.
The Siren Call of Israeli Unilateralism
Lara Friedman
June 18, 2012
In the process they are ceasing to be safe Republican strongholds.
Europe, Be Careful What You Ask For
Andrew Neil
November 2, 2008

Historical Examples of ceasing

The storm, far from ceasing, seemed to have grown yet stronger.
Master and Man
Leo Tolstoy
The wake became livelier, though not ceasing to preserve appearances.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola
Clotilde, herself, ceasing to smile, seemed to listen to him with deference.
Doctor Pascal
Emile Zola
He came to his senses, and ceasing suddenly, wondered greatly at himself.
Lord Jim
Joseph Conrad
And so ceasing to speak I watched her stepping out by my side.
Under Western Eyes
Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for ceasing

cease

verb

(when tr, may take a gerund or an infinitive as object) to bring or come to an end; desist from; stop

noun

without cease without stopping; incessantly

Word Origin for cease

C14: from Old French cesser, from Latin cessāre, frequentative of cēdere to yield, cede

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ceasing

cease

"cessation, stopping," c.1300, from cease (n.) or else from Old French cesse "cease, cessation," from cesser.

cease

c.1300, cesen, from Old French cesser "to come to an end, stop, cease; give up, desist," from Latin cessare "to cease, go slow, give over, leave off, be idle," frequentative of cedere (past participle cessus) "go away, withdraw, yield" (see cede). Related: Ceased; ceasing. Old English in this sense had geswican, blinnan.

Idioms and Phrases with ceasing

cease

In addition to the idiom beginning with cease

cease and desist

also see:

wonders will never cease