Deterrent

//dɪˈtɛɹənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Something that deters.

    "An extension of the system to serve new housing estates on the outskirts of the city, at an estimated cost of about £4,000,000 a mile, is being considered, but the narrow gauge, small clearances, and short platforms are deterrents."

  2. 2
    something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Serving to deter, preventing something from happening.
Adjective
  1. 1
    tending to deter wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
hindrancepreventiveadmonishingadmonitoryalarmingawing

Example

More examples

"The law's harsh sentence is a deterrent against drinking and driving."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin dēterrēns, dēterrentem.

Related phrases

nuclear deterrent

More for "deterrent"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.