What does cease mean?
Word: Cease
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Cease means to stop doing something or to come to an end. It is a more formal word for stop.
Synonyms: stop, end, halt
Antonyms: start, continue
How do you spell cease?
Syllables: cease
Tricky part: The word begins with an s sound, yet the first letter is a c. Do not let the sound guide your pen here; learn the first letter by sight.
Watch out for: ceese, cese, seace
Memory tip: Picture a big curved C held up like a policeman's hand, telling the traffic to cease. The stop word starts with that C.
Idioms and Phrases
- cease to exist: To stop being there at all. Example: "The old cinema ceased to exist when the new mall was built."
Cease in a sentence
Example 1: The noise of the drilling did not cease until late evening.
Example 2: The children ceased chattering when the principal walked in.
Example 3: My little sister never ceases to ask questions.
Fun Fact
Cease came into English from French about 700 years ago, and its Latin root meant to hold back or delay.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: cease
a) begin
b) rest
c) quit
d) finish
Show answer
a) begin. To cease is to stop, so to begin is its opposite.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
c_as_
a) e, a
b) a, e
c) e, i
d) e, e
Show answer
d) e, e. The word begins cea and ends with a silent e.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
secae
a) cause
b) chase
c) crease
d) cease
Show answer
d) cease. Cause needs a u and chase needs an h; these letters make cease.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The baby's crying did not ceace until Grandma sang to her.
a) until
b) sang
c) ceace
d) crying
Show answer
c) ceace. The s sound near the end of cease is spelt with an s, not a c.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What has happened when the music ceases?
a) it has got faster
b) it has stopped
c) it has become louder
d) it has just begun
Show answer
b) it has stopped
2. Which word sounds close to cease but means to grab?
a) seize
b) seats
c) sees
d) seas
Show answer
a) seize
