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.
William Amaya added that he is a graduate of Franklin and there used to be one or more officers on campus who broke up fights and deterred others with their presence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The ICC said it wouldn’t be deterred by the U.S. sanctions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Rupar told Salon that he won’t be deterred “from the unvarnished coverage of Trumpworld I’ve been doing since 2016.”
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
Reports quietly announce that the Supreme Court, like the rest of the country, wouldn’t be deterred from its work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
If a criminal thinks his potential victim may be armed, he may be deterred from committing the crime.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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