DETER (deterred, deterring)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: deterred    , deterring   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does deter mean? 

• DETER (verb)
  The verb DETER has 2 senses:

1. try to prevent; show opposition to

2. turn away from by persuasion

  Familiarity information: DETER used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DETER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they deter    ... he / she / it deters   
Past simple: deterred   
Past participle: deterred   
-ing form: deterring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Try to prevent; show opposition to

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

deter; discourage

Context example:

We should discourage this practice among our youth

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

disapprove; reject (deem wrong or inappropriate)

Sentence frames:

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

Derivation:

deterrence (the act or process of discouraging actions or preventing occurrences by instilling fear or doubt or anxiety)

deterrent (something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress)

deterrent (tending to deter)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Turn away from by persuasion

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

deter; dissuade

Context example:

Negative campaigning will only dissuade people

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

advise; counsel; rede (give advice to)

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

talk out of (persuade someone not to do something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

Sam cannot deter Sue
They deter him to write the letter

Derivation:

determent; deterrence (a communication that makes you afraid to try something)

deterrent (tending to deter)

 Context examples 

The use of nucleic acid oligomers to bind to a specific mRNA to deter protein production.

(Antisense Technology, NCI Thesaurus)

Treatment using nucleic acid oligomers to bind to specific mRNA to deter protein production and alter disease process.

(Antisense therapy, NCI Thesaurus)

They found that the larvae were attracted to the sounds of tropical estuaries under current conditions, but deterred by the same sounds under simulated future ocean conditions.

(Fish larvae lose their way to safety in acidified oceans, SciDev.Net)

White Fang had never seen such a dog (it was a mastiff); but the size and fierce aspect of the intruder did not deter him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

His pride, in that direction, may be of service, if not to himself, to many others, for it must only deter him from such foul misconduct as I have suffered by.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

She would not allow the presence of Lucy, nor the consciousness of some injustice towards herself, to deter her from saying that she was happy to see him, and that she had very much regretted being from home, when he called before in Berkeley Street.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

This fact, my dear sir, combined with the distinguished elevation to which your talents have raised you, deters me from presuming to aspire to the liberty of addressing the companion of my youth, by the familiar appellation of Copperfield!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

She had depended on a twilight walk to the Grecian temple, and perhaps all over the grounds, and an evening merely cold or damp would not have deterred her from it; but a heavy and settled rain even SHE could not fancy dry or pleasant weather for walking.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)