ceasefire

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #11,956 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: ceasefires

A ceasefire is an agreement to stop fighting. Declare a ceasefire, the ceasefire held, a ceasefire broke down.

It is not peace and not surrender — it suspends fighting without settling anything, which is why so many collapse. A humanitarian ceasefire is a short pause to let aid through or people out. Note the compound of cease and fire.

Definitions of ceasefire

1nounceasefireAn agreement to stop fighting.B2+
“Both sides agreed to a ceasefire so that the wounded could be taken to hospital.”

ceasefire is an agreement.

Where it comes from

From cease + fire.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Politics & Society, Military & Defence

Practise this word

ceasefire in the wild

The United Nations Security Council often imposes, or tries to impose, ceasefire resolutions on parties in modern conflicts.
Armistice
An armistice is also different from a truce or ceasefire, which refer to a temporary cessation of hostilities for an agreed limited time or within a limited area.
Armistice
Both nations agreed to rename the ceasefire line as the "Line of Control" and pledged to respect it without prejudice to their respective positions.
Line of Control
A ceasefire can be temporary with an intended end date or may be intended to last indefinitely.
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is distinct from an armistice in that the armistice is a formal end to a war whereas a ceasefire may be a temporary stoppage.
Ceasefire

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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