deter C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings US /dɪˈtɝ/ UK /dɪˈtɜː/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to discourage someone from acting through fear or doubt of consequences Heavy fines are meant to deter drivers from speeding. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to discourage someone from... discouragedissuadeinhibithinderdauntintimidateprevent ↔ Opposites encourageinciteemboldenspur Word family Forms undeterred Derived forms deterrentdeterrencedeterment Related forms terrorterrible Etymology AI details From Latin deterrere ('to frighten away, discourage'), from de- ('away') + terrere ('to frighten'). deterrere Latin terrere Latin *tres- Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics Emotions & Feelings Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # deter **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /dɪˈtɝ/ **IPA (UK):** /dɪˈtɜː/ ## Meanings 1. to discourage someone from acting through fear or doubt of consequences ## Examples - Heavy fines are meant to deter drivers from speeding. ## Synonyms - discourage - dissuade - inhibit - hinder - daunt - intimidate - prevent ## Antonyms - encourage - incite - embolden - spur ## Derived Forms - deterrent - deterrence - determent ## Related Forms - terror - terrible ## Roots and Affixes - Root: deterrere - Root: terrere - Root: *tres- ## Etymology From Latin deterrere ('to frighten away, discourage'), from de- ('away') + terrere ('to frighten'). ## AI Etymology Deter is from Latin deterrere ('to frighten away, discourage'), from de- ('away') + terrere ('to frighten'). Important recorded forms include deterrere (Latin), terrere (Latin), and *tres- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to discourage someone from acting through fear or doubt of consequences. The wider family includes derived forms such as deterrent, deterrence, and determent and related words such as terror and terrible. ## Topics - Emotions & Feelings - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown