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# deterrence

«deterrence» in Mova's school dictionary: **Stopping people from doing something by making them…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Stopping people from doing something by making them afraid of what would happen to them if they did it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deterrence/#m1)

2) (politics) The idea that a country can stop attacks by having strong weapons that would hit back. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deterrence/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In citizenship and history lessons, deterrence explains why there are punishments and fines: to stop people breaking rules. In news and the Cold War topic, «nuclear deterrence» means countries keep weapons hoping never to use them. In everyday safety, CCTV signs are a deterrent to thieves. Phrases: «nuclear deterrence», «as a deterrence», «deterrent».

### examples

- Fines for littering are a form of deterrence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deterrence/#x1)
- The bright lights act as deterrence against burglars. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deterrence/#x2)
- During the Cold War, both sides relied on nuclear deterrence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deterrence/#x3)
- Some people argue that deterrence works better than punishment after a crime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deterrence/#x4)
- The guard dog provides deterrence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deterrence/#x5)
- Deterrence only works if people believe the threat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deterrence/#x6)

### note

Uncountable. Related: deter (verb: to put someone off), deterrent (noun: the thing that deters). Spelled with double «r». People argue about how well deterrence works; it is a debated idea, not a proven fact.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «deterrence» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deterrence/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.