cease and desist
(US, legal, mostly, attributive) An order by a government agency, sanctioned by a court, that one must stop and not resume a certain (usually illegal) behavior.
Seen in the wild
#BreakingNews Iran says it will open the Strait of Hormuz if Trump would cease and desist threats. In other words, if Trump would shut up and remove troops. Sounds sensible to me.
The Trump cabal is constantly stealing artists’ work and perverting it. Entertainment lawyers probably all have cease and desist letters on standby for these fools.
I have sent you a cease and desist from using my intellectual property
One of our Epsteinwiki.com sleuths has gotten a cease and desist from one of the EPstein rapist and is threatening lawfare. I am asking for help from my legal followers who support our work. THanks!
as a member of the husbands coalition for not getting dragged online, i implore you to cease and desist
Definitions
(US, legal, mostly, attributive) An order by a government agency, sanctioned by a court, that one must stop and not resume a certain (usually illegal) behavior.
His remarks did not stop the courts from issuing the cease-and-desist order.
“The Trump cabal is constantly stealing artists’ work and perverting it. Entertainment lawyers probably all have cease and desist letters on standby for these fools.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I have sent you a cease and desist from using my intellectual property”
— Bluesky· May 2026“One of our Epsteinwiki.com sleuths has gotten a cease and desist from one of the EPstein rapist and is threatening lawfare. I am asking for help from my legal followers who support our work. THanks!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“as a member of the husbands coalition for not getting dragged online, i implore you to cease and desist”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Someone corresponding with my company lost their goddamn mind, put a situation into ChatGPT, was given a CEASE AND DESIST letter, then went and emailed that letter. That kicked off a legal response when the original issue was… they felt they were getting too many emails.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(legal, mostly, attributive) A written demand that a party stops and does not resume a certain behavior, such as copyright infringement, slander, or libel, threatening legal action if the recipient fails to do so.
She received a cease-and-desist from his solicitors soon after the podcast.
Comments
(legal) To stop and not resume an action.
We are told to cease and desist or we will cease to exist.
“#BreakingNews Iran says it will open the Strait of Hormuz if Trump would cease and desist threats. In other words, if Trump would shut up and remove troops. Sounds sensible to me.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
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