incessant

in·ces·sant

adjective \(ˌ)in-ˈse-s^ənt\

Definition of INCESSANT

: continuing or following without interruption : unceasing

— in·ces·sant·ly adverb

Examples of INCESSANT

1. <the incessant noise from an outside repair crew was a real distraction during the test>
2. Much of the early motor development of the child depends on learning and refining such procedures, through play, imitation, trial and error, and incessant rehearsal. —Oliver Sacks, New Yorker, 24 Sept. 2007
3. Magna Carta also stipulated that the shire courts should meet as royal courts under the itinerant justices more often than twice a year—a change, convenient to the landed classes and their incessant civil actions, that was not implemented because of the cost to the Crown. —Norman F. Cantor, Imagining the Law, 1997
4. Whatever Stalin's ancestry, his biographers, Robert Tucker in particular, have concluded that his unfortunate childhood experiences, including incessant, murderous beatings by his drunken father, were probably what caused his pathological behaviour. —Amy Knight, Times Literary Supplement, 26 Apr. 1991

Origin of INCESSANT

Middle English incessaunt, from Late Latin incessant-, incessans, from Latin in- + cessant-, cessans, present participle of cessare to delay — more at cease

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to INCESSANT

Synonyms

ceaseless, continual, continued, continuing, continuous, nonstop, perpetual, running, unbroken, unceasing, uninterrupted, unremitting

Antonyms

discontinuous, noncontinuous

Related Words

dateless, deathless, endless, eternal, everlasting, immortal, interminable, permanent, undying, unending; changeless, constant, stable, steady, unchanging, unvarying; durable, enduring, lasting, persistent; imperishable, indestructible

Near Antonyms

intermittent, periodic, periodical, recurrent, recurring; alternate, alternating, cyclic (or cyclical), rhythmic (or rhythmical), seasonal, serial; erratic, fitful, irregular, occasional, spasmodic, sporadic, spotty, unsteady

See Synonym Discussion at continual

Rhymes with INCESSANT

canescent, decrescent, depressant, fluorescent, increscent, liquescent, pearlescent, rufescent, suppressant, turgescent