incessant

adjective

in·​ces·​sant (ˌ)in-ˈse-sᵊnt 

: continuing or following without interruption : unceasing

Synonyms

• ceaseless
• continual
• continued
• continuing
• continuous
• nonstop
• perpetual
• running
• unbroken
• unceasing
• uninterrupted
• unremitting

Choose the Right Synonym for incessant

continual, continuous, constant, incessant, perpetual, perennial mean characterized by continued occurrence or recurrence.

continual often implies a close prolonged succession or recurrence.

continual showers the whole weekend

continuous usually implies an uninterrupted flow or spatial extension.

football's oldest continuous rivalry

constant implies uniform or persistent occurrence or recurrence.

lived in constant pain

incessant implies ceaseless or uninterrupted activity.

annoyed by the incessant quarreling

perpetual suggests unfailing repetition or lasting duration.

a land of perpetual snowfall

perennial implies enduring existence often through constant renewal.

a perennial source of controversy

Examples of incessant in a Sentence

Much of the early motor development of the child depends on learning and refining such procedures, through play, imitation, trial and error, and incessant rehearsal. —Oliver Sacks, New Yorker, 24 Sept. 2007

Magna Carta also stipulated that the shire courts should meet as royal courts under the itinerant justices more often than twice a year—a change, convenient to the landed classes and their incessant civil actions, that was not implemented because of the cost to the Crown. —Norman F. Cantor, Imagining the Law, 1997

Whatever Stalin's ancestry, his biographers, Robert Tucker in particular, have concluded that his unfortunate childhood experiences, including incessant, murderous beatings by his drunken father, were probably what caused his pathological behaviour. —Amy Knight, Times Literary Supplement, 26 Apr. 1991

the incessant noise from an outside repair crew was a real distraction during the test

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite the numerous types of meditation, just hearing (or reading) the word often conjures up an image of sitting painstakingly (and quite possibly painfully) still for an hour or two, begging your mind to stop rattling off your incessant to-do list and just be still. —Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 11 Jan. 2025

Israel responded with an incessant, large-scale military campaign. —Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025

Empathy and agility help to combat these incessant ailments. —Dan Pontefract, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025

In the four years since mobs of his supporters stormed the Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat, Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans have waged an incessant campaign to rewrite the history of one of the most shameful events in modern American history. —Carl Leubsdorf, The Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English incessaunt, from Late Latin incessant-, incessans, from Latin in- + cessant-, cessans, present participle of cessare to delay — more at cease

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

incessant

adjective

in·​ces·​sant (ˈ)in-ˈses-ᵊnt 

: going on and on : not stopping or letting up

incessantly adverb