deter
Portuguese, verb/deˈte(ʁ)/
deter is spelled D-E-T-E-R (5 letters) and appears 14 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 5,502nd most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Deter is a Portuguese verb meaning “to stop, arrest, detain, restrain” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “proceder à detenção; prender; reter à força”.
What does deter mean in English?
verb
- 1
to stop, arrest, detain, restrain
- 2
to deter
- 3
to withhold
- 4
to hold (a right or privilege)
A empresa detém o direito de despedir os empregados.
- 5
to own (corporate)
Esta empresa detém uma cadeia de restaurantes.
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
verb: 1. proceder à detenção; prender; reter à força 2. fazer parar, suspender a progressão de 3. ter em seu poder, possuir, ser detentor de 4. reprimir-se, conter-se
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of deter
- detenho first-person present singular
- detive first-person preterite singular
- detido participle past
- deteres infinitive second-person singular
- determos first-person infinitive plural
- deterdes infinitive plural second-person
- deterem infinitive plural third-person
- detendo gerund
- detidos masculine participle past
- detida feminine participle past
- detidas feminine participle past
- deténs indicative present second-person
- detém indicative present singular
- detemos first-person indicative plural
- detendes indicative plural present
- detêm indicative plural present
- detinha first-person imperfect indicative
- detinhas imperfect indicative second-person
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce deter?
- Brazil /deˈte(ʁ)/
- Brazil [deˈte(h)]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to deter
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is deter in Portuguese?
deter appears 14 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).