as in obstacle
something that makes movement or progress difficult
the homeowner put up a fence around his garden as a deterrent for animals
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in preventive
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deterrent
Robert Goulder, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
One area in which this has happened—and another example of the deterrent effect of the threat of total war—is Washington’s deliberate restriction of Ukraine’s ability to attack Russian territory, at least in ways that involve Western weapons.
—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Feb. 2023
Vale responded by arguing that Trump's frauds impacted consumers by inserting false and misleading information into the marketplace, and that Trump's fine has a deterrent effect.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2024
By Yian Lee / Bloomberg September 20, 2024 4:10 AM EDT
Taiwan’s Constitutional Court upheld the legality of the death penalty but moved to limit its use, in a decision that strikes a balance between keeping the punishment’s deterrent effect and preventing its abuse.
—Yian Lee / Bloomberg, TIME, 20 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deterrent 
Adjective
The First Circuit agreed with the lower court, holding that FBAR penalties — acknowledged to be partly deterrent in nature — are not subject to the constitutional protection against excessive fines.
—Robert Goulder, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
One area in which this has happened—and another example of the deterrent effect of the threat of total war—is Washington’s deliberate restriction of Ukraine’s ability to attack Russian territory, at least in ways that involve Western weapons.
—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Feb. 2023
Vale responded by arguing that Trump's frauds impacted consumers by inserting false and misleading information into the marketplace, and that Trump's fine has a deterrent effect.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2024
By Yian Lee / Bloomberg September 20, 2024 4:10 AM EDT
Taiwan’s Constitutional Court upheld the legality of the death penalty but moved to limit its use, in a decision that strikes a balance between keeping the punishment’s deterrent effect and preventing its abuse.
—Yian Lee / Bloomberg, TIME, 20 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deterrent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deterrent
Noun
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Their change of heart reflects the inconvenient practical obstacles to suddenly cutting off access to a popular platform.—
Johanna Costigan,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
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There is a path to preventing such a wrong turn, even if the path is strewn with obstacles and is uphill all the way.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Still, with a few preventive steps, parents can greatly reduce the risk of their family falling ill.—
Lia Miller,
Parents,
17 Jan. 2025
-
Leave a comment View Comments Wen: The same lifestyle changes that people with the diseases should implement are also the best preventive measures for people who want to forestall these diseases.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But Noe said the biggest hurdle local farmers face when trying to expand their operations is the pressure from development spreading across the historic agricultural lands in South Miami-Dade.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
24 Jan. 2025
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Still, patients need to jump through logistical hurdles to secure a prescription or insurance coverage.—
Team Verywell Health,
Verywell Health,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Only two people survived after the 15-year-old 737-800 Boeing plane run by Jeju Air skidded across the landing strip without landing gear and crashed into a concrete barrier containing antennas, bursting into flames.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
23 Jan. 2025
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While corporate America has long celebrated shattering the glass ceiling, a more pervasive barrier continues to hold women back from reaching leadership positions — the broken rung.—
Kara Dennison, SPHR, CPRW, EC,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Commanders defensive lineman Jonathan Allen was called for a defensive offsides.—
Ryan Gaydos,
Fox News,
26 Jan. 2025
-
The Heat, missing Jimmy Butler for the second game of his two-game suspension, committed 22 turnovers (leading to 29 Nets points) but mustered enough offense and defensive stops to dispatch a faceless Nets team that played without injured leading scorer Cam Johnson.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The office handed over Yoon’s case to the Seoul prosecutors’ office on Friday and asked it to indict him on charges of rebellion, abuse of power and obstruction of the National Assembly.—
Hyung-Jin Kim,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2025
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Microplastics in the bloodstream can induce cerebral thrombosis by causing cell obstruction and lead to neurobehavioral abnormalities, Science Advances, 11(4).—
Hatty Willmoth,
Newsweek,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The embarrassment of midfield riches could, for some, soften the blow of using Ampadu as Struijk’s long-term stand-in.—
Beren Cross,
The Athletic,
19 Jan. 2025
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But on the way out, there was one final embarrassment: a $60 million fine by the NFL against the old owner following the release of an independent investigation, which found workplace misconduct and financial improprieties while Snyder owned the team.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN,
18 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near deterrent
Cite this Entry
“Deterrent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deterrent. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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