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
But the frequency with which these scams are occurring — spurred by the ease of making and disseminating AI music — suggests scammers aren’t exactly deterred by paltry royalty payouts.
—
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
Bo Bichette will protect Soto, with his ability to drive in runners on base meant to deter pitchers from walking Soto.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 25 Mar. 2026
If that could be established, the enemy would waste precious time and resources to deter or destroy threats that did not exist, while ignoring the real threats tucked out of sight.
—David Szondy
march 25, New Atlas, 25 Mar. 2026
But that move isn’t likely to deter the Panthers from adding to their offense line depth chart in April.
—Mike Kaye
march 24, Charlotte Observer, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deter
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
Bo Bichette will protect Soto, with his ability to drive in runners on base meant to deter pitchers from walking Soto.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 25 Mar. 2026
If that could be established, the enemy would waste precious time and resources to deter or destroy threats that did not exist, while ignoring the real threats tucked out of sight.
—David Szondy
march 25, New Atlas, 25 Mar. 2026
But that move isn’t likely to deter the Panthers from adding to their offense line depth chart in April.
—Mike Kaye
march 24, Charlotte Observer, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deter
Verb
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If anyone figured any of this would dissuade the part of Simpson’s fan base that came to know him as an alternative country artist first, and not someone who does topical disco, that dissuasion did not materialize.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
23 Mar. 2026
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The regime has taken every precaution to dissuade would-be rioters, establishing military checkpoints and ordering violent crackdowns on the slightest actions against the state authorities.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Taken together, Murkowski said such efforts could discourage people from voting.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Mar. 2026
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Krystn Maher chuckles, not wanting to discourage them.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deter. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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