as in to dissuade
to steer (a person) from an activity or course of action
we tried to deter him from his crazy scheme, but to no avail
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Recent Examples of deter
The United States has been effective thus far in deterring China from invading Taiwan but has not prevented China from undertaking other provocative actions in the South China Sea.
—
Carrie A. Lee, Foreign Affairs, 19 Nov. 2024
As a result, employees said, such requests were dreaded, delayed and deterred.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 13 Nov. 2024
Between the lines: The lengthy ballot may be an issue, either deterring voters or leading some to skip some contests.
—John Frank, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024
To deter excessive returns, some retailers, including H&M, Zara and J. Crew, started charging customers return fees in the past year.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deter 
Carrie A. Lee, Foreign Affairs, 19 Nov. 2024
As a result, employees said, such requests were dreaded, delayed and deterred.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 13 Nov. 2024
Between the lines: The lengthy ballot may be an issue, either deterring voters or leading some to skip some contests.
—John Frank, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024
To deter excessive returns, some retailers, including H&M, Zara and J. Crew, started charging customers return fees in the past year.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deter
Thesaurus Entries Near deter
Cite this Entry
“Deter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deter. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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