cease and desist

1. Stop, leave off doing something, as in: “Bliss excavated at least once on his own and Dr. Brand ... told him to cease and desist” (Douglas Preston quoting Frank Hibben, The New Yorker, June 12, 1995). This legal term is a redundancy, since cease and desist mean virtually the same thing, but often appears in legal documents to avoid possible misinterpretation. [c. 1920]

Example Sentences

Ultimately, the ice cream flavor was hit with a cease and desist letter from Lady Gaga, whose legal team took issue with associating the pop star’s name with a food product that “may be unsafe for human consumption.”

From Salon

Activision warned Rothholz to cease and desist his alleged hacking activities in June 2023.

From Los Angeles Times

On July 10, the band asked the government to cease and desist the use of its recording and pull down the video.

From Los Angeles Times

Coomer, on the other hand, was telling him what he didn’t want to hear, namely: “Cease and desist.”

From Slate

“Let me be clear: bankrolling civil unrest is not protected speech. It is aiding and abetting criminal conduct. Accordingly, you must immediately cease and desist any further involvement in the organization, funding, or promotion of these unlawful activities,” Hawley wrote.

From Los Angeles Times