surcease
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to cease from some action; desist.
-
to come to an end.
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
verb
-
to desist from (some action)
-
to cease or cause to cease
Etymology
Origin of surcease
1400–50; sur- 1 + cease; replacing late Middle English sursesen (v.) < Middle French sursis (past participle of surseoir ) < Latin supersessus (past participle of supersedēre to forbear; see supersede), equivalent to super- super- + sed ( ēre ) sit 1 + -tus past participle suffix, with dt > ss
Explanation
Surcease is a fancy word for "ending." If you want a movie to end, you long for its surcease. This word can be used as a noun or verb, but either way it means something is finished. If you surcease working, then you finished your homework for the day. Many people hate when their sleep comes to a surcease in the morning. If a clumsy dentist is causing you pain, you might yell "Surcease! Surcease!" That just means "Stop it!" In life, everything surceases eventually. This is a word you’re likely to see in poetry and other formal writing.
Vocabulary lists containing surcease
Romeo and Juliet
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"The Raven"
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"Macbeth": Act 1 Scene 7
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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.
So if there is surcease from sorrow, and my name is attached to it, thank God.”
From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2023
I'll hope for just a few years to spend not wishing every day were over just a weekend, and a momentary surcease.
From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2018
As report after report indicates, he attacks, lashes out, mocks, tweets, pummels, charges and complains, showering calumny on others even as he praises his achievements without surcease.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2017
They need a surcease from public and student pressures to promulgate new reforms, strengthen what has already been done, institutionalize experiments, slough off nonproductive parts.
From Time Magazine Archive
“I’ve gained pounds lying continuously in bed, seeking surcease and sublimation in food. Now we must run. I must leave this house. It has terrible associations.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
