Meaning & use
deterred
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“deterred” is a form of “deter”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of deter: put off from doing something by making it seem risky, difficult or not worth the trouble.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually followed by from plus -ing: it deterred him from going.
Patterns
- deterred from doing something
- be deterred by something
The high fees deterred many students from applying.
She was not deterred by the rain and went running anyway.
Warning signs deterred most hikers from crossing the ice.
Word forms
| base form | deter |
|---|---|
| third person singular | deters |
| -ing form | deterring |
Common combinations
- deterred from doing
- He was deterred from complaining by his boss's temper.
- not deterred by
- The climbers were not deterred by the cold.
- easily deterred
- Cats are not easily deterred once they smell fish.
- deterred by the cost
- Many buyers were deterred by the cost of repairs.
- deterred potential thieves
- Bright lights deterred potential thieves.
Synonyms and how they differ
- discouraged
- Discouraged focuses on the loss of confidence or enthusiasm, while deterred focuses on the decision not to act.
- dissuaded
- Dissuaded implies someone persuaded you with arguments, whereas deterred often comes from fear or difficulty.
- put off
- Put off is the informal everyday equivalent of deterred.
- prevented
- Prevented means the action was actually stopped, but deterred leaves the choice with the person.
Opposites
Word family
- deter verb
- to put someone off acting
- deterrent noun
- something that discourages action
- deterrence noun
- the act of discouraging attack or crime through fear
- deterring adjective
- discouraging
Commonly confused: deterred or detour? deterred or dissuaded?
deterred vs detour
A detour is an alternative route; deterred is about being put off an action.
deterred vs dissuaded
Dissuaded needs a person doing the persuading; deterred can be caused by a thing such as cost.
Practice
The long queue deterred her ___ buying a ticket.
Choose one answer.
Deter is followed by from plus an -ing form. The other prepositions do not form this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “deterred”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.