surcease
/ˈsɝˌsis/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.42 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "And first of all, it is more then time, there were an ende and surcease made of this immodest and deformed manner of writting latelie entertained, whereby matter of religion is handled in the stile of the stage."
- "It it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well / It were done quickly: if the assassination / Could trammel up the consequence, and catch / With his surcease success;"
- "[…] vainly I had sought to borrow / From my books surcease of sorrow"
- "[…] old age is still old age. It is the waning, not the crescent moon, The dusk of evening, not the blaze of noon: It is not strength, but weakness; not desire, But its surcease; not the fierce heat of fire, The burning and consuming element, But that of ashes and of embers spent […]"
- "[…] the time came when he sickened of the whole affair, and withdrew his agent, and took whatever gain from it the actor apportioned him. He was apt to have these sudden surceases, following upon the intensities of his earlier interest […]"
- "[Joe Stork, delivering a baby via taxiplane:] Why should I wear my wings out, when modern ingenuity offers surcease?"
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman surseser, from Old French sursis, past participle of surseoir, from Latin supersedēre. Spelling later influenced by association with unrelated cease, which likely also influenced the meaning. Related to supersede.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɝˌsis/
- British English: /səˈsiːs/