as in dissuaded
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 deterred
Clovis coach Cooper Steele said his team had to be aggressive with Centennial’s size, so the free throws the Huskies made were something that couldn’t be deterred.
—
Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2026
But Durbin said he was never deterred from his mission.
—CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
They are also deterred by the scent of eucalyptus, marigold, geranium, and spearmint plants.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 5 Mar. 2026
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most critical chokepoint for oil shipments, has effectively stalled as the threat of attacks from Iran deterred vessels from passing through the waterway.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 4 Mar. 2026
For much of the last decade, Nigeria faced a dollar shortage crisis that left foreign companies unable to move earnings abroad, which deterred investors, even as the government struggled with oil theft along pipelines that limited forex revenues.
—Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 4 Mar. 2026
Lanning, who took plenty of criticism for being aggressive in that 2023 Washington game, hasn’t been deterred.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2026
The regime’s missiles partially deterred Israel.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2026
The tactics haven't deterred her.
—Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 26 Feb. 2026
Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2026
But Durbin said he was never deterred from his mission.
—CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
They are also deterred by the scent of eucalyptus, marigold, geranium, and spearmint plants.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 5 Mar. 2026
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most critical chokepoint for oil shipments, has effectively stalled as the threat of attacks from Iran deterred vessels from passing through the waterway.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 4 Mar. 2026
For much of the last decade, Nigeria faced a dollar shortage crisis that left foreign companies unable to move earnings abroad, which deterred investors, even as the government struggled with oil theft along pipelines that limited forex revenues.
—Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 4 Mar. 2026
Lanning, who took plenty of criticism for being aggressive in that 2023 Washington game, hasn’t been deterred.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2026
The regime’s missiles partially deterred Israel.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2026
The tactics haven't deterred her.
—Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 26 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deterred
Verb
-
She wasn’t dissuaded two years later — and mid-renovation — when a $475 million Target distribution center was announced for the small city, creating an industrial foothold in a mostly agrarian area.—
Zachary Hansen,
AJC.com,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Trump could have dissuaded the Israelis once again.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Anthropic’s Claude was the only chatbot that reliably discouraged violent plans, doing so in 33 out of 36 conversations during testing.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Buzelis was discouraged by his struggles to find his shot amid a losing streak that had stretched to nine games.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deterred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deterred. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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