Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

desist

[dih-zist, -sist]
See more synonyms for desist on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
  1. to cease, as from some action or proceeding; stop.
Show More

Origin of desist

1425–75; late Middle English < Old French desister < Latin dēsistere to leave off, equivalent to dē- de- + sistere to stand, place, akin to stāre to stand
Related formsde·sist·ance, de·sist·ence, nounnon·de·sist·ance, nounnon·de·sist·ence, nounnon·de·sist·ing, adjective, nounun·de·sist·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

break, pause, bar, block, conclusion, completion, expiry, termination, closing, stoppage, development, closure, ending, denouement, result, consequence, outcome, finish, resolution, retirement

Examples from the Web for desistance

Historical Examples

  • All these charges were quieted by intrigue, bribery of the judges, or desistance of the accuser.

    What is Property?

    P. J. Proudhon

  • There are preachers of death: and the earth is full of those to whom desistance from life must be preached.

    Thus Spake Zarathustra

    Friedrich Nietzsche

  • It was felt by them at the time to be an additional incentive to moderation, to sobriety, to desistance from extreme views.

British Dictionary definitions for desistance

desist

verb
  1. (intr often foll by from) to cease, as from an action; stop or abstain
Show More
Derived Formsdesistance or desistence, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Old French desister, from Latin dēsistere to leave off, stand apart, from de- + sistere to stand, halt
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 desistance

desist

v.

mid-15c., from Middle French désister (mid-14c.), from Latin desistere "to stand aside, leave off, cease," from de- "off" (see de-) + sistere "stop, come to a stand" (see assist). Related: Desisted; desisting.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with desistance

desist

see cease and desist.

Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.