cease

verb

\ ˈsēs

ceased; ceasing

Definition of cease

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to cause to come to an end especially gradually : no longer continue they were forced to cease operations cease to exist

intransitive verb

1a : to come to an end the fighting gradually ceased

b : to bring an activity or action to an end : discontinue they have been ordered to cease and desist

2 obsolete : to become extinct : die out

cease

noun

Definition of cease (Entry 2 of 2)

: cessation —usually used with without I kept an eye upon her without cease— R. L. Stevenson

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about cease

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Choose the Right Synonym for cease

Verb

stop, cease, quit, discontinue, desist mean to suspend or cause to suspend activity. stop applies to action or progress or to what is operating or progressing and may imply suddenness or definiteness. stopped at the red light cease applies to states, conditions, or existence and may add a suggestion of gradualness and a degree of finality. by nightfall the fighting had ceased quit may stress either finality or abruptness in stopping or ceasing. the engine faltered, sputtered, then quit altogether discontinue applies to the stopping of an accustomed activity or practice. we have discontinued the manufacture of that item desist implies forbearance or restraint as a motive for stopping or ceasing. desisted from further efforts to persuade them

Examples of cease in a Sentence

Verb

The fighting along the border has temporarily ceased. The factory ceased operations last year. The child would not cease his constant whining.

Noun

worked without cease for the betterment of humanity

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Yesterday, unconfirmed rumors that Calvin Klein was officially ceasing their luxury ready-to-wear business swirled around the digital space. — Brooke Bobb, Vogue, "Calvin Klein Is Moving Into the Future Without a Runway Collection—But Likely More Underwear-Clad Kardashians," 7 Mar. 2019 Your tireless commitment, discipline and hard work never ceases to amaze me. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Gisele Bündchen's Reaction to Tom Brady's Super Bowl Win Was Priceless," 4 Feb. 2019 However, the deal did not seem to address the deeper issues that have prevented the bitter enemies from reaching a longer cease-fire arrangement. — Ian Deitch, Fox News, "Tense calm, cease-fire follows another Hamas-Israel flare-up," 10 Aug. 2018 The intricacies of their usually invisible and always magical biochemistry, morphology and ecology never cease to amaze. — Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, "Why this Kentucky plant is the 'Manolo Blahniks' of the garden world," 22 June 2018 By the numbers: The cabbies in this town never cease to surprise me. — Willie Brown, San Francisco Chronicle, "Gavin Newsom strolling into California governor’s job? John Cox may surprise," 9 June 2018 Handcraft never ceases to impress Lovers of craft had lots of savor at NYCxDesign this year. — Jenny Xie, Curbed, "All the NYCxDesign 2018 highlights you should know," 30 May 2018 That program, and others like it, would cease to exist if the preparedness act is not reauthorized. — Nicolette Louissaint, STAT, "Congress needs to back legislation supporting disaster preparedness," 15 June 2018 To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter Graham never ceases to inspire us with messages about self-love and body positivity. — Blake Bakkila, Health.com, "Ashley Graham Uses Windex to Correct a Spray Tan–Here's Why That's Dangerous," 31 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Advertising The sudden burst of late-night fighting ended a daylong lull that had raised hopes of a cease-fire taking hold. — Isabel Debre, The Seattle Times, "Israel bombs targets in Gaza as rocket fire resumes," 27 Mar. 2019 The Pentagon and Central Command both declined to comment on specific actions taken by Mr. Mattis and Gen. Votel in the run-up to the cease-fire. — Dion Nissenbaum, WSJ, "Mattis, U.S. Commander Sought to Temper Saudi-Led War in Yemen," 31 Dec. 2018 As part of the tariff cease-fire, the U.S. agreed to put off a plan to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10% on Jan 1. — WSJ, "China to Suspend Punitive Tariffs on U.S. Cars and Auto Parts for Three Months," 14 Dec. 2018 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Oct. 30 for a cease-fire and new talks in November. — Asa Fitch, WSJ, "Saudis Halt Yemen Offensive as International Pressure Mounts," 15 Nov. 2018 After several escape attempts and living on just a bowl of rice per day, Prince Michel and his group were freed after the French government reached a temporary cease-fire. — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, "Prince Philip’s Cousin Was a Paratrooper Who Helped Liberate France From the Nazis," 20 Aug. 2018 Bird began removing its scooters from Indianapolis streets Wednesday, almost a week after Lime, left the city and weeks after the city sent a cease-and-desist letter. — Faith E. Pinho, Indianapolis Star, "Indianapolis scooters: What the proposed regulations could mean," 13 July 2018 Facebook issued a cease-and-desist letter to Grouply.io developers, who discontinued the Chrome plugin earlier this year. — Brittany Shoot, Fortune, "Facebook Closes Loophole That Revealed Personal Data of People in 'Closed' Groups," 12 July 2018 The city issued a cease-and-desist letter to the three companies and impounded improperly parked scooters. — Evan Sernoffsky, San Francisco Chronicle, "Bye-bye, SF scooters as Bird, Lime and Spin go on hiatus," 4 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cease.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.