adjective
- serving or tending to deter.
noun
- something that deters: a deterrent to crime.
- military strength or an ability to defend a country or retaliate strongly enough to deter an enemy from attacking.
noun
- something that deters
- a weapon or combination of weapons, esp nuclear, held by one state, etc, to deter attack by another
adjective
- tending or used to deter; restraining
1829, noun and adjective, in Bentham, from Latin deterrentem, present participle of deterrere (see deter). In reference to nuclear weapons, from 1954.