deterred
Americanadjective
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discouraged or restrained from acting or proceeding.
A visible thief is a deterred thief, so installing motion-sensing lights on your property helps to protect it.
-
kept from happening; prevented or checked.
Assuming that those 79,000 deterred property crimes have an average cost of $1,900 each, that’s a savings of over $150 million.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deterred
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This resistance has not deterred the country that has become the leading voice on reparations: Ghana.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Some older homeowners may be deterred from selling by the tax hit if their property has appreciated significantly in value since they bought it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
And since the pile-up of injuries hasn’t deterred women from buying the pants, it might just be that fashion victim is the real label of the summer.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
Despite the threat of strikes, conservatives in Tehran have watched with rising alarm as traffic that was deterred from crossing during the war now ply the U.S.-backed route near Oman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Vincent will not be deterred by the criticism.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
