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cease

 - 4 dictionary results

cease

  [sees] verb, ceased, ceas⋅ing, noun
Use cease in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to stop; discontinue: Not all medieval beliefs have ceased to exist.
2. to come to an end: At last the war has ceased.
3. Obsolete. to pass away; die out.
–verb (used with object)
4. to put a stop or end to; discontinue: He begged them to cease their quarreling.
–noun
5. cessation: The noise of the drilling went on for hours without cease.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME ces(s)en < OF cesser < L cessāre to leave off, equiv. to cess(us) (ptp. of cēdere to withdraw, go; ced- go + -tus ptp. suffix) + -ā- thematic vowel + -re inf. ending; see cede

Synonyms:
2. terminate, end, culminate.

Antonyms:
1, 2. begin.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To cease
cease   (sēs)   
v.   ceased, ceas·ing, ceas·es

v.   tr.
To put an end to; discontinue: The factory ceased production. See Synonyms at stop.
v.   intr.

  1. To come to an end; stop: a process that never ceases.

  2. To stop performing an activity or action; desist: "fold our wings,/And cease from wanderings" (Tennyson).

n.  Cessation; pause: We worked without cease to get the project finished on time.

[Middle English cesen, from Old French cesser, from Latin cessāre, to stop, frequentative of cēdere, to yield; see ked- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

cease 
c.1300, from O.Fr. cesser, from L. cessare "to cease, go slow," frequentative of cedere "go away, withdraw, yield" (see cede). Replaced O.E. geswican, and blinnan. Cease-fire "armistice" is from 1918.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

cease

In addition to the idiom beginning with cease, also see wonders will never cease.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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