Meaning & use

cease

verb·Academic

To stop happening or doing something, often permanently.

See it in a sentence

The old factory finally ceased operations after decades of steadily declining sales figures.

The rain finally ceased just as the parade was about to begin.

A note on using this word

Cease is more formal than 'stop' and is common in official, legal, or written contexts, such as a 'cease and desist' order.

Words with a similar meaning

stopendhalt

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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