quit 1 of 2

1
as in to leave
to give up (a job or office) he decided to quit his job at the fast-food restaurant

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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as in to succumb
to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control) tried to persuade his daughter to remain at home, but eventually he just quit and let her go out on her own

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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as in to pay
to give what is owed for eager to quit all debts before starting married life

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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quit

2 of 2

adjective

as in free
no longer burdened with something unpleasant or painful I am finally quit of that terrible task

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word quit distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of quit are cease, desist, discontinue, and stop. While all these words mean "to suspend or cause to suspend activity," quit may stress either finality or abruptness in stopping or ceasing.

the engine faltered, sputtered, then quit altogether

When is it sensible to use cease instead of quit?

The words cease and quit are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, cease applies to states, conditions, or existence and may add a suggestion of gradualness and a degree of finality.

by nightfall the fighting had ceased

When is desist a more appropriate choice than quit?

While the synonyms desist and quit are close in meaning, desist implies forbearance or restraint as a motive for stopping or ceasing.

desisted from further efforts to persuade them

When would discontinue be a good substitute for quit?

While in some cases nearly identical to quit, discontinue applies to the stopping of an accustomed activity or practice.

we have discontinued the manufacture of that item

When could stop be used to replace quit?

In some situations, the words stop and quit are roughly equivalent. However, stop applies to action or progress or to what is operating or progressing and may imply suddenness or definiteness.

stopped at the red light

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of quit
Verb
Hugh Hewitt has quit as a contributing columnist to The Washington Post, after storming out of a Post live event Friday morning over an argument regarding former President Trump’s criticism of elections in Bucks County, Pa. Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 1 Nov. 2024 Hiring activity has slipped, employees aren’t quitting their jobs as freely as before and job openings rates are mirroring those seen in 2018 and 2019, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Alicia Wallace, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024 Yet the risk reductions in metabolic diseases associated with sugar rationing in early life are massive, on par with the effects of lifelong vegetarianism or quitting cigarettes. Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 31 Oct. 2024 This has been met with significant pushback from employees; one survey found that 73% of Amazon employees are considering quitting because of the mandate. Sanjay Sathe, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for quit 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quit
Verb
  • The Lakers were already down several bodies in their frontcourt, with Christian Wood (offseason left knee surgery) and Jarred Vanderbilt (offseason feet surgery) sidelined, leaving two-way center Christian Koloko as the only available big man behind Davis.
    Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 13 Nov. 2024
  • The callers reported seeing a man armed with a gun fleeing a silver sedan that was left disabled in a parking lot, authorities said.
    Caelyn Pender, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The story follows the town doctor, Jack Troy, and his daughter, Ronnie, as they are unexpectedly left to care for a baby abandoned on a doorstep.
    Theara Coleman, theweek, 6 Nov. 2024
  • The cost of the U.S. abandoning its traditional allies could be stark.
    Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The Broad Fire burned around 33 acres, but its forward progress was stopped and firefighters were mopping up late Wednesday afternoon, Malibu’s city government said.
    Phil Helsel, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Behind every unresolved murder case is a family that never stopped mourning or yearning for justice.
    Alaa Elassar, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • One of those meteorites eventually succumbed to Earth’s gravitational pull after a lengthy journey through space, sending it on a trajectory that ended in Indiana.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024
  • In 1796, Philipp, only forty-four years old, succumbed to pneumonia.
    Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • People also could order food online to pick up at different locations with the Order Ahead program, but that service will cease when the Feed Rogers building opens and people can shop for their own food again.
    Gael Langdon, arkansasonline.com, 5 Nov. 2024
  • But as Trump’s presidency went on and his comments and actions didn’t cease to shock, Weymar and her Tiny Pricks community remained as emboldened as ever to bear witness to and record the political climate through craft.
    Gabby Shacknai, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The developers agreed to pay him another $50,000 later, the indictment said.
    Bracey Harris, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
  • The company has settled a legal proceeding related to a lease agreement, agreeing to pay $100,000 in rent and $13,953 in nonrefundable rent deposit.
    Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Dobbins then spied an open backfield after Austin Ekeler departed the Chargers to sign with the Washington Commanders as a free agent.
    Elliott Teaford, Orange County Register, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Now, the sun meets the skies quite early but departs just around when most of us get off work.
    Mariyam Muhammad, The Enquirer, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling mental illness affecting how a person thinks, feels and behaves.
    Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
  • High ticket prices not a deterrent Culture shifts and costly tickets may be affecting how people behave in public.
    Felecia Wellington Radel, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near quit

Cite this Entry

“Quit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quit. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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