The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Desist \De*sist"\ (?; 277), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Desisted; p.
   pr. & vb. n. Desisting.] [L. desistere; de- + sistere to
   stand, stop, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. d['e]sister. See
   Stand.]
   To cease to proceed or act; to stop; to forbear; -- often
   with from.
   [1913 Webster]

         Never desisting to do evil.              --E. Hall.
   [1913 Webster]

         To desist from his bad practice.         --Massinger.
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         Desist (thou art discern'd,
         And toil'st in vain).                    --Milton.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

desist
    v 1: choose not to consume; "I abstain from alcohol" [syn:
         abstain, refrain, desist] [ant: consume, have,
         ingest, take, take in]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

49 Moby Thesaurus words for "desist":
   abandon, abdicate, abjure, abort, acknowledge defeat, belay,
   cancel, cease, cede, come off, cry quits, cut it out, cut out,
   desist from, discontinue, disuse, drop, drop it, end, forgo,
   forswear, give, give over, give up, halt, hand over,
   have done with, hold, knock it off, lay down, lay off, leave off,
   let go, nol-pros, not pursue with, put behind one, quit, refrain,
   relinquish, renounce, resign, scrub, stay, stop, surrender,
   terminate, throw up, waive, yield