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incessant

incessant

30 6.3
Happening all the time without stopping
  • adjective
  • /ɪnˈsɛsənt/
translation icon : incesante
  • The incessant noise from the construction site made it hard to concentrate.
  • incessant demands
  • incessant questioning
  • incessant repetition

Like these sort of incessant, basically unanswerable questions.

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Examples

  • Al-Ani's return to Iraq in 1958 marked a period of incessant activity, not wholly devoted to the theater.

    Academic text (1997)
  • We need an occasional catastrophe to break up the incessant bombardment of information.

  • Her days are not full of incessant talk of art and work.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The late nights, the incessant phone calls.

  • All her life, she had an incessant desire simply to get to the next point.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • It is a space of incessant making.

  • Your incessant need to protect me will not redeem your own failure to protect Mother.

  • Your incessant complaining isn't doing us any good.

  • The hard morning rain had tapered off to an incessant drizzle, and that was fine.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The fluorescent tubes on the ceiling gave off an incessant, angry buzz.

    Fiction book (2002)

Synonyms

eternal
vsincessant
362 4.3

Lasting forever without end

leans toward not stopping action rather than abstract timeless existence
endless
vsincessant
350 2.5

Continuing for a very long time and not stopping

focuses more on not stopping than only on feeling that it has no end
constant
vsincessant
198 2.5

Happens all the time without stopping

is more about lasting forever rather than simply staying the same
continuous
vsincessant
141 3.7

Without a break or gap, for example in a curve

is used more for lasting forever than only having no breaks
relentless
vsincessant
131 5.1

Keeps going without stopping and stays very strong

is about going on without pause but not necessarily with great intensity
perpetual
vsincessant
93 5.8

Lasting for a very long time without stopping

leans more to always happening rather than just having no pauses
persistent
vsincessant
82 4.9

Lasting for a long time and not stopping easily

is more about unbroken flow rather than someone or something refusing to stop
never-ending
vsincessant
58 3.1

Continuing for a very long time with no end

states the same idea but stresses lasting forever
nonstop
vsincessant
42 1.3

Continuing without any stops or pauses

implies lasting forever more than only going on without stops
everlasting
vsincessant
39 4.5

Lasting forever without end

is similar but may stress time length more than simple not stopping
uninterrupted
vsincessant
28 4.2

Continuing without stopping or being disturbed

is more about lasting forever rather than only smooth flow
unrelenting
vsincessant
28 7.0

Not stopping and not getting less strong

describes action in progress but lacks the strong sense of severity
sustained
vsincessant
22 3.9

Lasting a long time without stopping or getting weaker

focuses on lasting forever rather than maintaining strength over time
unending
vsincessant
19 4.1

Lasting a long time without stopping

is similar but can stress lasting action more than just having no end
interminable
vsincessant
13 7.5

Lasting a very long time and making you bored or annoyed

keeps going without pause but does not imply boredom
ceaseless
vsincessant
9 4.9

Not stopping or pausing for a long time

focuses more on lasting forever rather than only lacking pauses
unremitting
vsincessant
1 8.5

Continuing without stopping or getting weaker, often in a bad way

is the general idea of going on without pause without implying unpleasantness
unceasing
vsincessant
1 6.0

Continuing without stopping

stresses lasting forever more than simply not having pauses
uninterruptible
vsincessant
1 6.6

Keeps working without stopping after it starts

means active without pauses but does not stress being impossible to stop
unintermitted
vsincessant
  • Archaic
9.6

Happening without stopping

leans more toward lasting forever rather than only smooth flow
unpunctuated
vsincessant
6.0

Expressed without pauses or breaks

focuses more on lasting forever rather than only having no pauses
undisrupted
vsincessant
4.6

Continuing without any break

emphasizes lasting forever rather than only smooth calm action
continued
vsincessant
1.3

Happening without stopping for a period of time

means lasting forever more than merely happening for a time
persisting
vsincessant
4.4

Continuing to try despite problems

focuses on lasting without pause rather than determined effort toward a goal
continuing
vsincessant
2.8

Happening over a long time and not finished

is more about lasting forever than merely happening for a long time

Antonyms

557 3.0

Lasting for a short time and not permanent

285 2.8

Happening now and then but not often

35 6.5

Happening sometimes but not all the time

How Continuous

perpetual
93 5.8
incessant
30 6.3
continuous
141 3.7

Surface Forms

incessant positive

Morphology

incessant = cessant (opaque) = in + cess + ant

The prefix 'in-' typically means 'not', but here it does not negate the root 'cease' in a straightforward manner.

Etymology

The word incessant comes from the Latin parts in- meaning 'not' and cess- which is the same root as the English word cease meaning 'to stop'. So incessant literally means 'not stopping', which is why we use it for something that continues without a pause.