deterred
Americanadjective
-
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.
Iran’s attacks have deterred captains from using the route along the Omani coast protected by the Navy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Perhaps most importantly, they need to learn to not be deterred by immediate losses.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
While the increased assessments needed to meet new standards deterred buyers for a few years, Florida condo statistics from May 2026 indicate the condo market is beginning to recover.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Around 2,500 people in California were redirected, and in Los Angeles, specifically, some 200 people were deterred, she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Mr. van D. turns white, and when she notices it, Mrs. van D. turns red, but she’s not about to be deterred: “The British aren’t doing a thing!”
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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.
