Other forms: deterred, deterring, deters
To deter is to make somebody decide not to do something, out of doubt or fear. Deter burglars, deterred by the cost, nothing deterred him.
It works on the decision rather than the ability, which is the whole theory of deterrence: the thing need not be prevented if it is not attempted. Research on crime finds that the chance of being caught deters far more than the severity of the punishment. Note that the Latin means to frighten off.
1verbdeterTo make somebody decide not to do something.
“The high fence and the guard dogs deter most burglars.”
deter is a discouraging.
Also accepted in games: discourage
Latin deterrere is de plus terrere, to frighten. Terror, terrible and terrific come from the same fright.
Latin
dēterreō
English, today
deter
Built from
Borrowed from Latin dēterreō. Borrowed from Latin dēterreō (“deter, discourage”), from de (“from”) + terreō (“to frighten”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA