desist

American  

[dih-sist, -zist] / dɪˈsɪst, -ˈzɪst /

verb (used without object)

• desists,
  present (3rd person singular)
• desisted,
  past participle,  past
• desisting
  present participle

1. to cease, as from some action or proceeding; stop.

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desist British  

/ dɪˈzɪst /

verb

1. to cease, as from an action; stop or abstain

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desist Idioms  

1. see cease and desist.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• desistance
  noun
• desistence
  noun
• nondesisting
  adjective
• undesisting
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• desisting
  present
• desisted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• desist
  simple
• desists
  simple
• have desisted
  perfect
• has desisted
  perfect
• am desisting
  progressive
• are desisting
  progressive
• is desisting
  progressive
• have been desisting
  perfect progressive
• has been desisting
  perfect progressive

Past

• desisted
  simple
• had desisted
  perfect
• was desisting
  progressive
• were desisting
  progressive
• had been desisting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will desist
  simple
• will have desisted
  perfect
• will be desisting
  progressive
• will have been desisting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of desist

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Old French desister, from Latin dēsistere “to leave off,” equivalent to dē- de- + sistere “to stand, place,” akin to stāre “to stand” ( see stand)

Explanation

You can use the verb desist as a way to say "stop" or "cease." Instead of yelling "Cut it out!" the new neighbor asked the tween girls to desist from playing any more loud, screeching music from that long-haired boy-band. If you want to insist that someone stop doing something, the word desist is a solid choice. It's often used as part of a legal order called a "cease and desist," which forces an action to come to a halt. "Cease" is a synonym for desist, so using the two together says "stop it!" loud and clear — and kind of redundantly. While cease often goes hand in hand with it, desist, can also be followed by from in the form another command: "Desist from camping on the lawn of your favorite singer's home so you won't be arrested."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

desist desists desisted desisting

Police say that during the visit Flowers did not engage with officers and was given a cease and desist order to deter him from further offending.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

“This is the first page of the cease and desist letter from Swalwell’s team — it has has been shared with permission from the recipient,” she wrote on social media.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

An attorney for Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, on Thursday sent a cease and desist letter to an unknown individual demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual assault.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

Authorities said the agreement effectively restricted the number of resellers of Apple products on Amazon’s Spanish website and issued a cease and desist order for the companies to amend their contracts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026

One day he lit into Vanguard’s index funds and almost instantly received a cease and desist order from Vanguard’s attorneys.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Discovery were the latest studios to send cease and desists letter to ByteDance on Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

“An honest conversation about coal and its miners needs to be had, and we should neither cease or desists from having it.”

From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2017

"I've gotten cease and desists before," he says.

From Time Magazine Archive

As a dancer, having exhibited herself to the spectator, desists from the dance, so does Nature desist, having manifested herself to soul—.

From A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers by Thoreau, Henry David

He desists, and once more hangs vertically, from the limb.

From The Fatal Cord And The Falcon Rover by Reid, Mayne

Anderson "desisted" when the woman did not say yes and left the bedroom, at which point the complainant heard her vomiting in the bathroom.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026

At first, Gilardo sent admonishing messages, but he soon desisted.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2023

The next week, her lawyer sent a letter to BRIC, saying that unless Zahedi desisted from airing any episodes featuring footage of Field or the children, she would “commence legal action.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 30, 2019

During that time I’d desisted not only from buying a new wallet but even from cancelling or replacing my credit cards and my driver’s license and my health-insurance card.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 25, 2018

She saw the terrible agony and the lips tightened down to hold back the cry and desisted.

From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston

A 2022 study of 317 trans youths discovered that after an average of five years of socially transitioning only 2.5 percent of participants ended up desisting and identifying as cisgender.

From Slate ● May 2, 2023

From an account of the Russian advance:— "The enemy is desisting furiously, particularly in the region of Torgovitsa."

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, June 28th, 1916 by Various

Mulch and water fruit trees and strawberries in dry weather, desisting when the fruit begins to ripen.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 7 "Horticulture" to "Hudson Bay" by Various

“This here’s the man you want to meet, I guess,” panted the old woman, desisting at length in her use of the poker.

From Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point Nita, the Girl Castaway by Emerson, Alice B.

Instead of desisting therefore, as soon as he had detached the first cask, he commenced cutting loose a second, and committing it to the sea in like manner.

From The Ocean Waifs A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea by Reid, Mayne

Related Words

• abstain
• cease
• relinquish