deterrence

noun

de·ter·rence | \ di-ˈtər-ən(t)s ,

-ˈter- ; -ˈtə-rən(t)s , -ˈte- ; dē-

Definition of deterrence

: the act or process of deterring: such as

a : the inhibition of criminal behavior by fear especially of punishment

b : the maintenance of military power for the purpose of discouraging attack nuclear deterrence

Examples of deterrence in a Sentence

The author argues that deterrence is no longer the best way to prevent war.

Recent Examples on the Web

If a country even suspects that the location of its second-strike submarines might be known, their value for nuclear deterrence decreases. — The Economist, "Mutually assured detection," 8 Mar. 2018 And lethal control is often better funded in the West than deterrence. — New York Times, "Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf Scientist?," 5 July 2018 Nelson has co-sponsored a bill that would prohibit the practice of separating children solely as a deterrence to prevent people from migrating to the United States. — Skyler Swisher, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Nelson, Wasserman Schultz denied access to immigrant center for children," 19 June 2018 The resistance to and deterrence of threats such as Olympic Destroyer should be based on cooperation between the private sector and governments across national borders. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Hackers who sabotaged the Olympic games return for more mischief," 19 June 2018 Others have argued that the main benefit of the policy is deterrence. — Michael Scherer, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump claims policy of separating families offers him leverage in immigration talks," 16 June 2018 Being strong in cyberspace is now as important for our deterrence efforts as having strong conventional forces. — Jens Stoltenberg, WIRED, "How NATO Defends Against the Dark Side of the Web," 9 June 2018 The fear is that the left-leaning Mr Moon, who has long called for dialogue, will fall under the North’s sway, undermining the strategy of deterrence and international sanctions that America and Japan badly want to keep in place. — The Economist, "BanyanDetente on the Korean peninsula is a relief," 15 Feb. 2018 As the Pentagon explores new ways to protect its satellites, America’s fallback policy remains deterrence by threat of retaliation. — Jonathan Broder, Newsweek, "Why the Next Pearl Harbor Could Happen in Space," 4 May 2016

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