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

Example 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
Andrew Greif Reporting from Oklahoma City Indiana trails just 100-96 with less than six minutes to play in what is a stunning example of this team refusing to quit in difficult road environments. Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 6 June 2025 Lee has promised a fiscal stimulus package to boost growth from just 2% last year, though tackling chaos in schools—both empty classrooms and teachers quitting in droves—and reversing the world’s lowest fertility rate of just 0.75 births per woman won’t have easy fixes. Charlie Campbell, Time, 4 June 2025 For example, quitting is one of the hardest moments to avoid tears. Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025 Five years ago, the mother made a drastic choice to sell her house, quit her job, and embark on a global adventure, dismissing any concerns for the future of her financial security. Ashley Vega, People.com, 24 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for quit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quit
Verb
  • Guests are encouraged to leave their small army assistants and handlers behind (though some stash them in nearby hotels).
    Matt Donnelly, Variety, 10 June 2025
  • In one case, the person had left the state overnight.
    Eric Cortellessa, Time, 10 June 2025
Verb
  • The number of remote job postings has declined, but this shift shouldn’t be seen as a signal to abandon what many knowledge workers value most.
    Duane Tursi, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • So Ogle, who had nothing to hang on to but that car, and sadly separated from her only daughter who lives in Utah, saw her car stolen but recovered and abandoned the next day in front of an apartment building.
    Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 June 2025
Verb
  • On September 2, Border Force officers had stopped two women at London Stansted Airport.
    Stuart James, New York Times, 6 June 2025
  • This move did not stop at regulation but was backed by public education campaigns and investment in local businesses producing biodegradable alternatives.
    Dianne Plummer, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
Verb
  • The explosion in the Lebanese capital, which killed more than 200 people and injured thousands, caused devastation to the building and its owners, with the matriarch of the family, 98-year-old Yvonne Sursock Cochrane, eventually succumbing to her injuries.
    Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 12 June 2025
  • So far this year, one person — a 13-year-old boy — has died from subway surfing, succumbing to his injuries days after falling off the top of a No. 7 train in Queens.
    Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 11 June 2025
Verb
  • Trump signed an order May 2 directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease funding NPR and PBS.
    Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
  • The company has ceased production and distribution of the products as FDA and the company continue their investigation to correct the issue with the manufacturer.
    Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 June 2025
Verb
  • Speaking after an assessment meeting with the army’s chief of staff, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Iran will pay a heavy price for harming Israeli citizens.
    Jon Gambrell, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2025
  • Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is the mission commander with aviator John Shoffner as pilot and two mission specialist seats paid for by the Saudi Space Commission, Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni.
    Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 June 2025
Verb
  • This blunt attribution departs from the more generalized threat descriptions of previous administrations.
    Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
  • The show has had a rotating list of people sitting alongside Hager since Hoda Kotb departed the morning series in January.
    Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • There are times when adults really should behave more like children.
    DeVonne Goode, Parents, 6 June 2025
  • Successful deployment depends on robust guardrails—policies, oversight mechanisms and escalation paths that ensure agents behave in alignment with enterprise standards.
    Alan Ranger, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Quit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quit. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

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