• 2-minute read
• 7th November 2018

Spelling Tips: -Cede, -Ceed, or -Sede?

When used at the end of a word, “-cede,” “-ceed” and “-sede” sound exactly the same. Unfortunately, this makes it easy to spell words with one of these letter groups incorrectly. To make sure your writing is always error free, then, check out our guide to “-cede,” “-ceed” and “-sede” words below.

Words Ending in -Cede

The most common word ending of those discussed here is “-cede.” It is used at the end of many words, such as:

Words Ending in -Ceed

There are three common verbs in English that end with “-ceed.” These are used as follows:

• “Exceed” means to go beyond or surpass something.
• “Proceed” typically means to move forward or go ahead with something.
• “Succeed” can mean to either come next in a sequence or triumph.

With most other words that make a “seed” sound at the end, you’ll need to use “-cede” instead.

Words Ending in -Sede

We’ve scratched out the “s” above because “supersede” is the only word that ends with “-sede” in English. It means “to replace or succeed,” especially when something new makes something old redundant. For example, if a new computer is more powerful than older ones, we might say:

This model has superseded all past home computers.

“Supersede” is often misspelled as “supercede,” so it is worth keeping the word ending in mind.

Summary: -Cede, -Ceed or -Sede?

Since “-cede,” “-ceed,” and “-sede” sound the same, you need to be careful with words that end in these letter groups:

• There are several words that end in “-cede,” including “recede” and “concede.” We also use “cede” by itself to mean “give up” or “yield to.”
• The three common words that end with “-ceed” are “exceed,” “proceed,” and “succeed.”
• The only word in English that ends in “-sede” is “supersede.”

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