deterrent C2 Topic:People & Society US /dɪˈtɝənt/ UK /dɪˈtɛɹənt/ See IPA manual Freq #27640 Meanings 1 noun Something that discourages people from doing something. Heavy fines act as a deterrent to careless drivers. 2 adj Serving to discourage or prevent something from happening. The new policy is meant to have a deterrent effect on shoplifting. Thesaurus Word family Forms deterrents Etymology AI details Learned borrowing from Latin dēterrēns, dēterrentem. dēterrēns Latin View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # deterrent **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun, adj **IPA (US):** /dɪˈtɝənt/ **IPA (UK):** /dɪˈtɛɹənt/ **Frequency rank:** 27640 ## Meanings 1. Something that discourages people from doing something. 2. Serving to discourage or prevent something from happening. ## Examples - Heavy fines act as a deterrent to careless drivers. - The new policy is meant to have a deterrent effect on shoplifting. ## Roots and Affixes - Root: dēterrēns ## Etymology Learned borrowing from Latin dēterrēns, dēterrentem. ## AI Etymology Deterrent is a learned borrowing from Latin dēterrēns, dēterrentem. Important recorded forms include dēterrēns (Latin). Current senses include something that discourages people from doing something and serving to discourage or prevent something from happening. ## Topics - People & Society - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown