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CEFR C2 — Proficiency

Deterrence

Definition

(military/political/legal) The practice or policy of discouraging an adversary from taking an unwanted action by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences, especially through the threat of retaliation or punishment; in criminology, the theory that the certainty, severity, and swiftness of punishment can prevent future offences.

Example Sentences

1Nuclear deterrence rested on the grim logic of mutually assured destruction throughout the Cold War.
2Does the death penalty actually serve as an effective deterrence against homicide, or does the evidence suggest otherwise?
3The doctrine of conventional deterrence did not prevent the outbreak of hostilities in 1914, despite decades of military planning.
4Assess the role of credible deterrence in maintaining strategic stability within the South China Sea.
5There is a growing consensus among criminologists that the deterrence effect of longer sentences diminishes sharply beyond a certain threshold.

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