deterrence
/dɪˈterəns/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪˈtɜːrəns/ (ame, ipa) · /di-ˈtər-ən(t)s -ˈter- -ˈtə-rən(t)s, -ˈte-; dē-/ (ame, mw)
deterrence — noun
1. a situation in which people are stopped from doing something harmful or illegal
a situation in which people are stopped from doing something harmful or illegal because they are afraid of the punishment or unpleasant results that will follow
The government introduced heavy fines as a form of deterrence against illegal dumping in the national park.
deterrence + against + [noun phrase for the unwanted behaviour]
Studies show that increasing police patrols has only a limited deterrence effect on street crime.
deterrence (attributive) + effect / measure / strategy
The threat of a lawsuit served as a powerful deterrence to would-be copyright violators.
Supporters of nuclear deterrence argue that the threat of massive retaliation has kept major powers from attacking each other.
- prevention
wider in meaning; deterrence specifically implies fear as the means of prevention
- discouragement
less formal and less strong than deterrence; can refer to any reason not to act
- inhibition
focuses on an internal or psychological restraint rather than an external threat
- encouragement
deterrence aims to stop action; encouragement aims to start or continue it
- incentive
a positive reason to act, whereas deterrence relies on negative consequences
文法句型
deterrence + against + [noun]
deterrence + of + [noun]
[adjective] + deterrence
用法筆記
Frequently appears as part of compound nouns (e.g. nuclear deterrence, criminal deterrence, deterrence theory). The verb form is deter. This noun is typically uncountable and used in formal or academic contexts.