different between deter vs relent

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?terre? (“deter, discourage”), from de (“from”) + terre? (“I frighten”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??t??(?)/
• Rhymes: -??(r)

Verb

deter (third-person singular simple present deters, present participle deterring, simple past and past participle deterred)

1. (transitive) To prevent something from happening.
2. (transitive) To persuade someone not to do something; to discourage.

3. (transitive) To distract someone from something.
   • 1748. David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 10.

     we have in following enquiry, attempted to throw some light upon subjects, from which uncertainty has hitherto deterred the wise

Synonyms

• (To persuade someone to not do something): dissuade

Related terms

• deterrent
• deterrence

Translations

Further reading

• deter in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• deter in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• deter at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• treed

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician and Old Portuguese det?er, from Latin d?tin?re, present active infinitive of d?tine? (“detain”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [de?te?]

Verb

deter (first-person singular present deteño, first-person singular preterite detiven, past participle detido)

1. to detain, stop
2. to stay
3. to arrest

Conjugation

Related terms

References

• “deteer” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006-2012.
• “detee” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
• “deter” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
• “deter” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “deter” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Portuguese det?er, from Latin d?tin?re, present active infinitive of d?tine? (“detain”).

Verb

deter (first-person singular present indicative detenho, past participle detido)

1. to stop, arrest, detain, restrain
2. to deter
3. to withhold

Conjugation

Related terms

• detenção
• ter

English

Etymology

From Middle English relenten, from Anglo-Norman relentir, from Latin re- + lentare (“to bend”), from lentus (“soft, pliant, slow”). Earliest recording dates to 1526.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???l?nt/
• Rhymes: -?nt

Noun

relent (plural relents)

1. Stay; stop; delay.
   • 2015, Mel Parson, First Sign of Trouble (song)

     There was no relent, my dear, as we pulled each other in.
2. (obsolete) A relenting.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Edmund Spenser to this entry?)

Derived terms

• relentless

Translations

Verb

relent (third-person singular simple present relents, present participle relenting, simple past and past participle relented)

1. (intransitive) To become less severe or intense; to become less hard, harsh, or cruel; to soften in temper

   He had planned to ground his son for a month, but relented and decided to give him a stern lecture instead.

   • 1989, Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day

     I did, I suppose, hope that she might finally relent a little and make some conciliatory response or other.
2. (intransitive) To slacken; to abate.

   We waited for the storm to relent before we ventured outside.

   He will not relent in his effort to reclaim his victory.

3. (obsolete, transitive) To lessen, make less severe or intense.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.iv:

     But nothing might relent her hastie flight; / So deepe the deadly feare of that foule swaine / Was earst impressed in her gentle spright […]

4. (dated, intransitive, of substance) To become less rigid or hard; to soften; to yield, for example by dissolving or melting
   • 1669, Robert Boyle, The History of Fluidity and Firmness

     [Salt of tartar] placed in a cellar will […] begin to relent.

Translations

Adjective

relent (comparative more relent, superlative most relent)

1. (obsolete) softhearted; yielding

References

French

Etymology

re- +? lent (“slow”, in the sense “lingering”)

Pronunciation

Noun

relent m (plural relents)

1. lingering smell (usually bad); stench
2. (figuratively) overtone

Further reading

• “relent” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle English

Verb

relent

1. Alternative form of relenten