cessation
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of cessation
1350–1400; Middle English cessacio ( u ) n < Latin cessātiōn- (stem of cessātiō ) delay, inactivity, stoppage, equivalent to cessāt ( us ) past participle of cessāre to delay, stop ( cess ( us ) yielded, ceded ( ced- cede + -tus past participle suffix) + -ātus -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Cessation is an end to something, such as the stopping of a bad habit, like the cessation of smoking. Cessation and cease sound alike and have similar meanings because they both come from the Latin word cessare, which means "to delay, to stop." The cessation can be permanent, such as when the protests resulted in the cessation of the use of baby bunnies to test lipsticks (forever ending the bunny torture); or temporary, such as the cessation of the rain during the storm that let us run to the car without getting wet (but rain, like sunshine, always comes back).
Vocabulary lists containing cessation
Lord of the Flies
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"The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe
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The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The joint statement said the ceasefire was "contingent on a complete cessation" of fire by Hezbollah as well as evacuation of the group's operatives from southern Lebanon.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
Following the talks, their governments agreed to implement a 10-day cessation of hostilities that began on Friday in order to "enable good-faith negotiations toward a permanent security and peace agreement", the US state department said.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Few vessels, it noted, are willing to re-enter the Strait of Hormuz “without a clear cessation of hostilities, assured maritime security and severely elevated freight rates.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026
“The cessation of production from Qatar, one of the biggest natural gas producers in the world, is likely to have wide-ranging ramifications for the market over the coming months,” analysts at ANZ said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
Strauss reiterated his familiar theme that the cessation of testing would have “severe repercussions” for the clean weapons program and that Los Alamos and Livermore would “lose momentum” during the suspension.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
