incessant
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incessant
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English incessaunte, from Late Latin incessant-, equivalent to Latin in- negative prefix + cessant- (stem of cessāns ), present participle of cessāre “to stop work”; see in- 3, cease, -ant
Explanation
Something incessant continues without interruption. When you're on a cross-country flight, it's tough to tolerate the incessant crying of a baby. In Latin, cessare means "to stop," so when you add the negative prefix in-, you get a word meaning "never stopping." A near synonym is continual, but something incessant is more relentless; ceaseless is a closer synonym. It's rare to find incessant used in a positive way. Even incessant sunshine would grow boring.
Vocabulary lists containing incessant
Do-Over: Words For Groundhog Day
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The Diary of a Young Girl
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List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And he’ll need to get hold of their nighttime raids into the pantry and incessant time spent on social media before it renders them unfit for purpose when their parents get home.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
"There was just this incessant beeping," she said.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
Behold “tech neck,” a name for those horizontal neck lines that develop across your neck with age and apparently worsen with incessant smartphone use.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Yet at 26, she has weathered countless storms — whether facing incessant body-shaming online, or defending her pop music pivot from cynics in the comments.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
Petey got up from the bed and went to the window, listening for the hoofbeats of the mare, but all she heard was the incessant rasp of the crickets.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
