Library / English Dictionary

DISCONTINUE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Prevent completion

Example:

break off the negotiations

Synonyms:

break; break off; discontinue; stop

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "discontinue" is one way to...):

end; terminate (bring to an end or halt)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "discontinue"):

fracture (become fractured)

bog; bog down (get stuck while doing something)

break up; cut off; disrupt; interrupt (make a break in)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

discontinuation (the act of discontinuing or breaking off; an interruption (temporary or permanent))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Put an end to a state or an activity

Example:

Quit teasing your little brother

Synonyms:

cease; discontinue; give up; lay off; quit; stop

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "discontinue"):

drop; knock off (stop pursuing or acting)

leave off (stop using)

sign off (cease broadcasting; get off the air; as of radio stations)

retire; withdraw (withdraw from active participation)

pull the plug (prevent from happening or continuing)

close off; shut off (stem the flow of)

cheese (used in the imperative (get away, or stop it))

call it a day; call it quits (stop doing what one is doing)

break (give up)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Antonym:

continue (keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last)

Derivation:

discontinuance; discontinuation (the act of discontinuing or breaking off; an interruption (temporary or permanent))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Come to or be at an end

Example:

the support from our sponsoring agency will discontinue after March 31

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "discontinue" is one way to...):

cease; end; finish; stop; terminate (have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "discontinue"):

fizzle; fizzle out; peter out; taper off (end weakly)

leave off (come to an end, stop or cease)

expire; run out (lose validity)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Antonym:

continue (continue a certain state, condition, or activity)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Clevudine has a long half-life and shows significant reduction of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), therefore the patient is less likely to have a relapse after treatment is discontinued.

(Clevudine, NCI Thesaurus)

Acrisorcin is comprised of two active ingredients, 9-aminoacridine and 4-hexylresorcinol, but its clinical use has been discontinued.

(Acrisorcin, NCI Thesaurus)

Its use was discontinued due to extreme side effects that included delirium, confusion, visual disturbances, hallucinations and violence; some evidence of long-term memory disorders and schizophrenia-like syndrome has been observed.

(Phencyclidine, NCI Thesaurus)

An indication or description of whether the adverse event caused the subject to discontinue from the study.

(Adverse Event Caused Study Discontinuation, NCI Thesaurus)

Due to no statistically-significant difference between standard triple-drug HIV therapies and the same therapy with capravirine, its development was discontinued by the developer.

(Capravirine, NCI Thesaurus)

In a study that followed participants after OIT successfully desensitized them to peanut, discontinuing OIT or continuing OIT at a reduced dose led to a decline in its protective effects.

(Few people with peanut allergy tolerate peanut after stopping oral immunotherapy, National Institutes of Health)

Research was discontinued due to difficulties in assaying the effects of avasimibe on preventing plaque formation and due to its ability to increase the activity of Cytochrome P450 3A4, thus increasing the removal of other drugs from the body.

(Avasimibe, NCI Thesaurus)

The distressing explanation she had to make to Harriet, and all that poor Harriet would be suffering, with the awkwardness of future meetings, the difficulties of continuing or discontinuing the acquaintance, of subduing feelings, concealing resentment, and avoiding eclat, were enough to occupy her in most unmirthful reflections some time longer, and she went to bed at last with nothing settled but the conviction of her having blundered most dreadfully.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

One year later, more participants on 300-mg peanut OIT (37%) passed the challenge than those on placebo OIT (13%), confirming insights from smaller trials that desensitization is maintained in only a minority of participants after OIT is discontinued or reduced.

(Few people with peanut allergy tolerate peanut after stopping oral immunotherapy, National Institutes of Health)