2. retardation, delay, stopping, staying, checking, delaying; hindrance, withholding, retaining, arrest.
deter, v. 1. daunt, intimidate, frighten or scare off or away; dishearten, dismay, dispirit, damp, cool, chill, throw cold water on, throw a wet blanket on, take the wind out of [s.o.'s] sails; discourage, dissuade, disincline, indispose, advise against, warn, frighten or scare out of, Inf. talk out of.
2. check, arrest, prevent, bar, obstruct, block, hold up; stall, stymie; thwart, frustrate, foil, balk, cross, Sl. stonewall; hinder, impede, restrain, constrain, bridle, trammel, hold back.
detergent, adj. 1. cleansing, cleaning, detersive, abstergent, washing, bathing, laving; scrubbing, swabbing, mopping; purifying, depurative, purificatory; purging, purgative, cathartic. -n. 2. cleanser, cleaner, detersive, solvent, abstergent; scouring powder, soap powder or flakes, soap; purifier, depurative, purgative, cathartic.
deteriorate, v. 1. degenerate, decline, sink, worsen, take a turn for the worse, slip, slide; go downhill, go to pieces, go to ruin, Inf. go to pot, Inf. go to the dogs, Sl. go or run to seed, Sl. hit the skids; fall, fail, lapse, weaken, retrogress, retrograde, let oneself go.
2. corrupt, vitiate, debase, abase; pollute, contaminate, infect, poison, taint, soil, sully, befoul; debauch, seduce, pervert, subvert, demoralize, lead astray or away.
3. disintegrate, crumble, break up, fall apart; erode, ablate, wear away, weather; decay, decompose, crumble into dust.
deterioration, n. 1. degeneration, vitiation, declination, declension, atrophy; retrogression, retrograda-tion, regression, lapse; corruption, depravation, degradation, debasement, demoralization, dissolution, dissipation, perversion, subversion, seduction; disintegration, dilapidation, erosion, corrosion, wear and tear; decay, decomposition, moth and rust.
2. decline, drop, fall, descent, slump, downturn, downtrend, turn for the worse.
determination, n. 1. decision, solution, adjudication, adjudgment, arbitrament, arbitration.
2. ascertainment, verification, finding, learning; establishment, confirmation; discovery, uncovering, unearthing.
3. settlement, verdict, judgment, opinion, decree; diagnosis, prognosis; upshot, conclusion, result, final issue, end, outcome.
4. firmness, resoluteness, steadfastness, tenacity; resolve, fortitude, will power, will; mettle, backbone, courage, grit, nerve, boldness; spunk, pluck, stamina, spirit, zeal, ardor; drive, push, persistence, pertinacity, perseverance, doggedness; stability, steadiness, constancy; indomitability, obduracy, intransigence; obstinacy, stubborness, pigheadedness.
5. intention, purpose, reason, motive, basis, ground, rationale; design, project, plan, purport, intentionali-ty, ulterior motive; wherefore, Fr. raison d'etre, reason why, the why and wherefore.
6. direction, aim, end, goal, mark, objective; propensity, tendency, proclivity, leaning; bent, drift, bearing, course, tenor, tack.
determine, v. 1. settle, decide, resolve, fix; adjudge, judge, arbitrate, decree, ordain; adjust, reckon, come to an agreement; clinch, settle once and for all, Inf. sew up, Inf. nail down, Inf. wrap up, Inf. put the bow on, Inf. put the cap or lid on, Inf. put on ice.
2. conclude, find, opine; ascertain, make certain of, verify, establish; make out, detect, tell, descry; find out, discover, pin down, get.
