deterrent

«deterrent» in Mova's school dictionary: something that makes people decide not to do a thing… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a deterrent, deterrents); adjective (a deterrent effect)

meaning for a pupil

1) A deterrent is something that makes people decide not to do a thing, because of the trouble or danger it would bring. tree →

2) As an adjective: having that effect, as in «a deterrent effect». tree →

3) (formal) Weapons a country keeps so that others are afraid to attack it. tree →

sense in the lessons

Used in safety, rules, law and nature (an animal's bad taste is a deterrent to predators). Phrases: «act as a deterrent», «a strong deterrent», «a deterrent to crime». It tells the reader why something is in place: to stop something before it happens.

examples

• A loud alarm is a good deterrent to burglars. tree →
• Bright colours on a frog act as a deterrent to birds. tree →
• The fine for parking there is a strong deterrent. tree →
• Spikes on the wall are a deterrent to climbers. tree →
• The teacher hoped detention would be a deterrent. tree →
• A dog barking is a deterrent for strangers. tree →

note

Spelling: one r in «deter», but «deterrent» has double r. Countable: a deterrent. Do not confuse with «detergent» (soap for washing).

In the corpora

• "The deterrent" is the British official way to say nuclear weapons, the most destructive bombs ever made.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «deterrent» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.