de|ter

de|ter «dih TUR», transitive verb, -terred, -ter|ring.

to keep back; discourage or hinder; stop or prevent from acting or proceeding by fear or consideration of danger or trouble: »

The extreme heat deterred us from going downtown. The barking dog deterred me from crossing the neighbor's yard. Lack of housing deters the…location here of company headquarters (New York Times). Drugged with love as I was, why, nothing could deter me from marriage (Saul Bellow).

SYNONYM(S): dissuade, restrain, prevent.

╂[< Latin dēterrēre < dē- away + terrēre frighten]