ceased

verb

past tense of cease
1
as in stopped
to come to an end the rain finally ceased, and we were able to continue the baseball game

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ended
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end cease chattering and get down to work, please

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ceased According to Reuters, Qalibaf, the Iranian parliament speaker, said that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until military threats ceased and sanctions on Iran were lifted. — Christopher Buchanan, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026 History repeats itself Following the decline of prisoner importation in the early 20th century, West Virginia ceased to receive direct federal payments for housing prisoners. — Ella Siegrist, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026 The public reaction is no doubt exactly the kind of boost Rockstar wanted to see after a brutal week of leaks, which seems to have ceased, for the time being. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026 The Orange County Jail, in Orlando, rebooked 559 of them two or more times from July 2025 until early February 2026, when the data shows the practice ceased. — Mario Ariza, ProPublica, 27 Aug. 2026 The company ceased operations at its facility in Osceola and also Crompton-Arkansas Mills -- a textile plant for corduroy and velveteen -- in Morrilton in 1984, per historic Log Cabin Democrat newspaper records. — Cristina Larue, Arkansas Online, 24 Aug. 2026 Chipotle has not used jalapeños from Coast Citrus Distributors since July 20, and Qdoba has ceased using the product since July 28. — Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 22 Aug. 2026 At moments like that, Out of the Further captures something of the goofy spirit of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street movies, which also sent their characters into dimensions where reason ceased to function and dream logic ruled. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026 Downtown College Prep opened its high school there in 2017, but ceased operations in June 2025 due to financial struggles and slumping enrollment. — George Avalos, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ceased
  1. stopped
  2. ended
  3. concluded
  4. halted
  5. expired
  6. quit
  7. terminated
  8. passed
Verb
  • Group argued construction could be irreversible The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is challenging the ballroom, had told the justices that the project would likely become irreversible unless it is stopped now.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Bilt, for its part, said the issue had to do with an earlier iteration of its credit cards that had stopped accepting customers.
    — Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of stopped
Verb
  • The city experienced a recent peak of 719 homicides in 2022, a year before Johnson took office, and ended last year with 416, according to Chicago police statistics.
    — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
  • This is one family’s experience of their last year in Connecticut after major hospitals abruptly ended gender-affirming medical care for trans youth.
    — Dr. SJ Job, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of ended
Verb
  • At least 15 babies and children from the faith-healing sect died between 2015 and 2025 from illnesses that doctors could have successfully treated, the experts concluded.
    — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Kirk Heilbrun, a forensic psychologist who evaluated Clancy in April, concluded his testimony Tuesday, testifying that Clancy was suffering from a form of bipolar disorder, but could still appreciate that killing her children was wrong.
    — Melina Khan, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of concluded
Verb
  • Today, a federal court halted it before this administration could wreak havoc on our elections.
    — Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The near miss raised questions about why the commercial flight was cleared for takeoff while Marine One was preparing to depart, a period when airline traffic is typically halted around presidential helicopter operations.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of halted
Verb
  • Well, yeah, those ACA enhancements that were originated during the pandemic, those actually expired at the end of this past year.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
  • And Turkey's 25-year gas import contract with Iran expired at the end of July, with no successor long-term deal announced.
    — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of expired
Verb
  • Craig, now a devoted granddad with a dry sense of humor, began working alongside his father at thirteen, quitting school even though teachers warned him that house moving was a dying trade.
    — Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Hep Spyder blamed Dwight for Buffo Carducci’s quitting on him back when Dwight was Hep’s tent boss.
    — Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of quit
Verb
  • Blackbox Multimedia, which has produced series for 5 including The Ex-Wife and Benidorm is Murder, alleges that the network wrongfully terminated a production deal and it is owed money.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The deal comes less than a month after the NWSL terminated its agreement with Victory+, the free streaming platform.
    — Asli Pelit, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of terminated
Verb
  • From the moment Billie learns about Sophie-Rose, the teenager who inherited her legendary fake ID after it was already passed down to multiple other Gen-Z blondes, she’s obsessed.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • That's a fraction of the roughly 130 vessels that passed through the vital waterway daily before the war began.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of passed

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Cite this Entry

“Ceased.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ceased. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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