DETERRED Synonyms: 16 Similar and Opposite Words

deterred

verb

past tense of deter

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of deterred The intruder might have been deterred by the couple’s two dogs — except that neither canine acted like a traditional guard dog. — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026 Last week’s Houthi advance has not deterred more container shipping industry players from attempting to make a wider return to the Bab el-Mandeb and Red Sea. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026 The first charge alleges the company had prevented or deterred Cheng from exercising union participation rights. — ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026 Audiences are increasingly opting for these more expensive PLF screenings and have yet to be deterred by the price tag. — Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026 Cohen believes promoters are deterred by the uncertainty of getting a decent return on the investment, time and effort involved with compliance, legalities and building out large-scale productions abroad. — Leena Tailor, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026 Also, the Biden administration deterred Ukraine from striking Russia’s energy assets. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026 He is not deterred by anything that happened in that courtroom. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026 And being forced to care for her mother deterred her from wanting children of her own. — Elizabeth Chuck, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for deterred

Verb

Trump may be taking a risk by leaning into this more, though, because Democrats may be dissuaded by his close involvement in the bill.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026
This has not dissuaded residents from demanding action from city officials.

— Noah Daly August 2, Idaho Statesman, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of dissuaded

Verb

Anything beyond loud noise is discouraged, and perhaps feared by those in charge at Ole Miss, given how emotional Kiffin’s return will be.

— Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Foreign visitors could be discouraged from visiting Nepal as well, impacting an industry that accounts for about 7% of the country’s GDP and more than one million jobs.

— Stephanie Yang, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of discouraged

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determining

deterred

deterrence

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“Deterred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deterred. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of deterred

verb

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