MEANING
To discourage or prevent an action by making its risks, costs, or difficulties seem unacceptable.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- deter an intruder
- deter someone from entering
- deter an attack
On the page
The warning sign deterred him from using the unstable stairs.
Fear of retaliation deterred several witnesses from speaking.
High costs, not danger, had deterred the first team.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- deter / deters
- Past tense
- deterred
- Past participle
- deterred
- Present participle
- deterring
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- deter / deters
- Present continuous
- am/is/are deterring
- Present perfect
- have/has deterred
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been deterring
- Past
- deterred
- Past continuous
- was/were deterring
- Past perfect
- had deterred
- Past perfect continuous
- had been deterring
- Future
- will deter / deters
- Future continuous
- will be deterring
- Future perfect
- will have deterred
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been deterring
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: fear. Can operate through fear, but also through inconvenience or expense. Unlike daunt, it emphasizes restraint of action. Verb forms (base, third-person singular, past, past participle, -ing): deter, deters, deterred, deterred, deterring. Derived family (not additional inflections or records): deterrent; deterrence.
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