desist
Halt your actions
To desist is to stop doing something, especially something harmful or objectionable.
The word is formal and often appears in legal contexts: a cease and desist letter demands that someone halt a specific activity.
The judge ordered him to desist from contacting the witness.
Outside legal usage, desist sounds stiff or deliberately emphatic.
Abstain from acting
eschew · renounce · hold back · keep from · stay away · forgo · decline · pass up
Cease all motion
- haltComplete sudden stop
- ceaseTo discontinue activity
- quitCease doing something
- discontinueTo stop doing
end · terminate · suspend · conclude · finish · break off · leave off · cut out
Abandon completely
- relinquishVoluntarily give up control
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- dropFall or release
- give upStop attempting something
let go · walk away · withdraw · vacate · cede · yield · release · waive
Court-ordered behavioral requirement
- court orderBinding judicial directive
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- restraining orderCourt-enforced avoidance mandate
- complianceAdhering to requirements
enforcement · violation · penalty · mandate · warning · notice
refrain
Abstain from acting
avoid · eschew · renounce · hold back · keep from · stay away · forgo · decline · pass up · sit out
stop
Cease all motion
discontinue · end · terminate · suspend · conclude · finish · break off · leave off · cut out · knock off
forsake
Abandon completely
- relinquishVoluntarily give up control
- surrenderCease resistance, yield
- dropFall or release
give up · let go · walk away · withdraw · vacate · cede · yield · release · waive · abdicate
injunction
Court-ordered behavioral requirement
- court orderBinding judicial directive
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- restraining orderCourt-enforced avoidance mandate
compliance · enforcement · violation · penalty · mandate · warning · notice
- cease and desistLegal order to stop