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

When a crime ceases to be a crime, common sense dictates that convicts ought to be freed of their criminal records. — Ted Rall, WSJ, "Criminal Records for Obsolete Crimes," 9 Jan. 2019 While the airline isn't officially ceasing to exist for a few hours, some long-haul flights have already been canceled and no recourse provided. — Meredith Carey, Condé Nast Traveler, "Primera Air Will Stop Flying Passengers, File for Bankruptcy," 1 Oct. 2018 Two of BamBrogan’s fellow co-founders had resigned in the months before the furloughs and the announcement that Arrivo was ceasing operations. — Sean O'kane, The Verge, "Hyperloop startup Arrivo is shutting down as workers are laid off," 15 Dec. 2018 Also, the Trump administration has ceased paying federal subsidies, called cost-sharing reduction payments, to insurers. — Lisa Schencker, chicagotribune.com, "Uncertainty remains over Illinois Obamacare premiums as other states reveal rate proposals," 25 June 2018 The Vita is due to finally cease production in Japan next year. — Jon Porter, The Verge, "Sony game cartridge patent hints at development of a Vita successor," 27 Nov. 2018 The report calls on Harvard’s endowment fund to cease all its investments in farmlands, take immediate action to resolve all land conflicts and adequately compensate communities for damages. — Caleb Parke, Fox News, "Harvard's billion-dollar global farmland investments under fire from activists," 12 Sep. 2018 Our broadcast operations had to cease while police searched the premises. — Michelle Ewing, ajc, "Albuquerque TV station misses broadcasts after man walks onto set," 2 July 2018 Now that the ruling has come to pass, the group plans a flood of social media, mail, email, cable television ads, op-eds and phone calls to spread the news about employees’ opportunity to cease paying union fees. — Bloomberg, latimes.com, "Group funded by conservative billionaires launches anti-union campaign following Supreme Court ruling," 28 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

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 Lime launched its scooter-share program last week without a permit, prompting the city to issue a cease-and-desist letter to the start-up. — Steve Harrison, charlotteobserver, "Lime, plus two other companies, are bringing scooters back. Here is when. | Charlotte Observer," 17 May 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.