Definition of DETER

The Fearful History of Deter

The word deter is rooted in fear. It was borrowed into English around the mid-16th century from the Latin verb deterrēre, which in turn was formed by combining de-, meaning "from" or "away," with terrēre, meaning "to frighten." Terrēre is also the source of terror, terrible, and even terrific, which originally meant "very bad" or "frightful." These days, you may be deterred by something that frightens you or by something that simply causes you to think about the difficult or unpleasant consequences of continuing. The word can also mean "to inhibit," as in "painting to deter rust."

Examples of deter in a Sentence

Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors, the automaker in most imminent danger of failure, gave lawmakers three reasons Chapter 11 isn't an option. First, the special financing that usually tides companies over through reorganization is so scarce right now that GM might not be able to get enough to keep functioning. Second, the stigma of bankruptcy would deter consumers from buying GM cars. Third, GM is already in the midst of a dramatic reorganization that will pave the way to a profitable future. — Justin Fox, Time, 1 Dec. 2008 For some species that deter attack by being poisonous, the goal of their physical appearance is not to hide or confuse other forest creatures, but to be noticed. — Candice Millard, The River of Doubt, 2005 Originally developed to monitor and track cattle, radio frequency identification (RFID) is now the cutting edge in merchandise, parcel, and baggage tracking. It's debuting in stores and libraries across the country as the most effective way to track inventory and deter theft without making consumers feel like they're in a war zone. — Athan Bezaaitis, PC Magazine, January 2000 None of these tribulations deterred spectators in the least. The ancient Olympics remained immensely popular, the greatest recurring event in antiquity, from 776 b.c. (when Hercules himself was said to have founded them) until a ban on pagan festivals by Christian emperor Theodosius I in the fourth century a.d. ensured their demise—a spectacular thousand-year run. — Leigh Steinberg, Civilization, June/July 2000 Some potential buyers will be deterred by the price. Painting the metal will deter rust.

Recent Examples on the Web Goldstein hopes the ruling will deter other developers from using the code in a similar way. — Anna Sturla, CNN, "New York judge orders developer to cut floors from residential tower," 15 Feb. 2020 In one village that tried the technique, elephants have been successfully deterred for six years running. — Chris Baraniuk, Scientific American, "Orangutans Are Hanging On in the Same Palm Oil Plantations That Displace Them," 3 Feb. 2020 But that doesn’t deter us from enjoying the show’s dashing leading man, Gideon Fletcher (Savile), who has returned from the sea in search of former love Meg Dawson (McNamee). — Deborah Wilker, Billboard, "Sting's 'The Last Ship' Sails on With Star-Studded U.S. Relaunch," 23 Jan. 2020 Clearly, the low price of Mountain Falls didn’t deter me. — Joe Pinsker, The Atlantic, "The Mysterious Economics of Face Wash," 6 Sep. 2019 Missile technology has become central to Beijing’s strategy to deter US power (Quartz member exclusive) in the Pacific, making up for deficiencies and a lack of experience with weapons systems like jet fighters. — Justin Rohrlich, Quartz, "Raytheon engineer arrested for taking US missile defense secrets to China," 1 Feb. 2020 Migrant and refugee advocacy groups argued Greece’s floating barrier won’t help deter the arrival of migrants and will only make the travel routes more dangerous. — Fox News, "Greece offering half-million dollar contract to build 'floating sea wall' to stop migrants from Turkey," 31 Jan. 2020 The Adlers are asking that punitive damages be awarded as determined by a jury to deter future discrimination. — Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press, "American Airlines agent said 'Orthodox Jews only bathe once a week,' lawsuit claims," 30 Jan. 2020 The intrusive measures originally introduced to deter terrorism are supplemented by authoritarian interventions aimed at biosecurity, like compulsory temperature screening or internment in quarantine facilities. — Robert Dingwall, Wired, "We Should Deescalate the War on the Coronavirus," 29 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.