cessation

American  

[se-sey-shuhn] / sɛˈseɪ ʃən /

noun

• cessations
  plural

1. a temporary or complete stopping; discontinuance.

   a cessation of hostilities.

   Synonyms:

   recess, stay, suspension, end, halt, stop

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cessation British  

/ sɛˈseɪʃən /

noun

1. a ceasing or stopping; discontinuance; pause

   temporary cessation of hostilities

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cessations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cessation

1350–1400; Middle English cessacio ( u ) n < Latin cessātiōn- (stem of cessātiō ) delay, inactivity, stoppage, equivalent to cessāt ( us ) past participle of cessāre to delay, stop ( cess ( us ) yielded, ceded ( ced- cede + -tus past participle suffix) + -ātus -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Cessation is an end to something, such as the stopping of a bad habit, like the cessation of smoking. Cessation and cease sound alike and have similar meanings because they both come from the Latin word cessare, which means "to delay, to stop." The cessation can be permanent, such as when the protests resulted in the cessation of the use of baby bunnies to test lipsticks (forever ending the bunny torture); or temporary, such as the cessation of the rain during the storm that let us run to the car without getting wet (but rain, like sunshine, always comes back).

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cessation cessations

The text of the agreement also calls for the permanent cessation of the conflict and for Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty to be ensured.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

Lebanon's embassy in Washington had hours earlier said Hezbollah had accepted a US proposal for a "mutual cessation of attacks", though there has been no official confirmation by the militant group.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

However, Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran program at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said such a formula was unlikely to result in a long-term cessation of Iran’s nuclear program.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

But first, a reminder that the “peace dividend” — that is, the surge of available resources for socially beneficial spending after the cessation of hostilities — has always been an elusive concept.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

Strauss reiterated his familiar theme that the cessation of testing would have “severe repercussions” for the clean weapons program and that Los Alamos and Livermore would “lose momentum” during the suspension.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations last week had resulted in an agreement to create tentative cessations of fighting along “green” humanitarian corridors to facilitate civilian evacuations.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 6, 2022

During cessations of hostilities in the 1980s and 1990s, standard immunizations reached children in countries including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Lebanon, and Sudan.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 26, 2021

Sleep apnea is a term that’s used broadly to describe cessations of breath during sleep.

From The Verge ● Aug. 30, 2017

“Given the previous failures of cessations of hostilities to hold, we approach it with some skepticism,” Obama said, “but it is worth trying.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2016

With it may be considered pauses, or cessations of the voice, helpful in the expression of thought and feeling, and necessary to the working of the vocal mechanism.

From The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886 by Ontario. Ministry of Education