Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense ceases, present participle ceasing, past tense, past participle ceased
1. verb
If something ceases, it stops happening or existing.
[formal]
At one o'clock the rain had ceased. [VERB]
2. verb
If you ceaseto do something, you stop doing it.
[formal]
He never ceases to amaze me. [VERB to-infinitive]
The secrecy about the President's condition had ceased to matter. [VERB to-infinitive]
A small number of firms have ceased trading. [VERB verb-ing]
Synonyms: discontinue, end, stop, fail More Synonyms of cease
3. verb
If you cease something, you stop it happening or working.
[formal]
The Daily Herald ceased publication, to be replaced by The Sun. [VERB noun]
More Synonyms of cease
cease in British English
(siːs)
verb
1. (whentr, may take a gerund or an infinitive as object)
to bring or come to an end; desist from; stop
noun
2. without cease
Word origin
C14: from Old French cesser, from Latin cessāre, frequentative of cēdere to yield, cede
cease in American English
(sis)
verb transitive, verb intransitiveWord forms: ceased or ˈceasing
1.
to bring or come to an end; stop; discontinue
noun
2.
a ceasing, as of some activity
: chiefly in without cease
SIMILAR WORDS: stop
Word origin
ME cesen < OFr cesser < L cessare, to loiter, be idle < pp. of cedere, yield: see cede
Examples of 'cease' in a sentence
cease
When do the political ends cease from justifying the military means?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
These temporary restrictions will cease at the end of this year.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The rain had ceased by the dawn and the day was fresh and pleasant.
Edward Beauclerk Maurice THE LAST OF THE GENTLEMEN ADVENTURERS: Coming of Age in the Arctic (2004)
The rain had ceased and sunlight shone upon the wet grass.
Len Deighton Bomber
Then the real world kicked in and football ceased to matter.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
But those matters did not cease to be factors which could form part of mitigation.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Three of the eight ceased publication shortly after launch.
Veljanovski, Dr Cento The Media in Britain Today (1990)
One of the causes is that his friends always end up ceasing to trust him because he cannot resist constantly lying to them.
Christianity Today (2000)
By the end, it ceases to matter.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
At nine in the morning the rain finally ceased, though the ground was still boggy underfoot.
Malcolm Balen A Model Victory (2005)
After 10million it ceases to really matter about personal wealth.
The Sun (2007)
The uses dreamed up for mobile technology rarely cease to amaze, but this one takes the biscuit.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Homeowners had thought their cover would cease at the end of next month when an agreement between the industry and government to continue renewing policies ends.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He then had to watch in frustration as the leading four all bettered his time as the rain ceased just as suddenly as it had arrived.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Nor do we have much more of a clue about what we can afford to spend each month or year before such questions cease to matter.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Perhaps, with the recovery of his father, it has ceased to be matter of urgency.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The Friend promptly ceased publication.
Adam Sisman The Friendship: Wordsworth and Coleridge (2006)
Like all the talk that has come so far in the build-up to this bout, when the first bell rings it will simply cease to matter.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
cease
British English: cease VERB
If something ceases, it stops happening or existing.
At one o'clock the rain had ceased.
American English: cease
Brazilian Portuguese: cessar
Chinese: 停止
European Spanish: cesar
French: cesser
German: aufhören
Italian: cessare
Japanese: やめる
Korean: 그치다
European Portuguese: cessar
Latin American Spanish: cesar
Chinese translation of 'cease'
cease
(siːs) (frm)
vi
停止 (tíngzhǐ)
vt
[production, operations, work]停止 (tíngzhǐ)
to cease doing sth停止做某事 (tíngzhǐ zuò mǒushì)
to cease trading停止营(營)业(業) (tíngzhǐ yíngyè)
to cease to do sth停止做某事 (tíngzhǐ zuò mǒushì)
he never ceases to amaze me他不停地使我惊(驚)讶(訝) (tā bùtíng de shǐ wǒ jīngyà)
1 (verb)
Definition
to bring or come to an end
Almost miraculously, the noise ceased.
Synonyms
stop
The music stopped and the lights were turned up.
end
Talks have resumed to try to end the fighting.
finish
He was cheered when he finished his speech.
be over
come to an end
peter out
die away
Opposites
start
,
begin
,
continue
,
commence
2 (verb)
Definition
to bring or come to an end
A small number of firms have ceased trading.
Synonyms
discontinue
Do not discontinue the treatment without consulting your doctor.
end
stop
fail
The lights mysteriously failed.
finish
The teaching day finished at around 4pm.
give up
conclude
They concluded their annual summit meeting today.
suspend
The union suspended strike action this week.
halt
They halted at a short distance from the house.
terminate
Her next remark abruptly terminated the conversation.