Meaning & use
unceasingly
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Meaning
adverbnot comparableformal
In a way that never stops, going on without any break.
Grammar: Goes after a verb or before a participle: it rained unceasingly.
Patterns
- work unceasingly
- unceasingly busy
The waves beat unceasingly against the cliffs.
She worked unceasingly to finish the report before dawn.
The crowd chanted unceasingly until the doors opened.
Common combinations
- work unceasingly
- The volunteers worked unceasingly through the night.
- rain unceasingly
- It rained unceasingly for a week.
- talk unceasingly
- The child talked unceasingly on the long drive.
- fight unceasingly
- They fought unceasingly for the right to vote.
- unceasingly grateful
- I am unceasingly grateful for your help.
Synonyms and how they differ
- constantly
- Constantly is everyday and can mean very frequently, while unceasingly means truly without a break.
- incessantly
- Incessantly often suggests an annoying repetition, while unceasingly is more neutral or even admiring.
- continuously
- Continuously is neutral and technical, whereas unceasingly is more dramatic.
- relentlessly
- Relentlessly adds a feeling of harshness or determination that unceasingly lacks.
Opposites
Word family
- unceasing adjective
- never stopping
- cease verb
- to stop
- ceaseless adjective
- without end
- ceaselessly adverb
- without stopping
Commonly confused: unceasingly or unseasonably?
unceasingly vs unseasonably
Unseasonably describes weather unusual for the time of year; it has nothing to do with continuing.
Practice
The nurse cared for patients ___ throughout the long crisis, barely resting.
Choose one answer.
Barely resting suggests she kept going without a break, so unceasingly fits. The other adverbs all suggest stopping or limited effort.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unceasingly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.