deter
dih-TURverbMeaning to discourage someone from acting, often through fear of what might happen
Memory hook DE-TERR: TERRIFY them away. Felix dresses up as a scarecrow, and the crows flap off in terror; the scary sight deters them from the corn.
The barking dog deters anyone from climbing over the fence.
In context The town hoped bright new streetlights would deter vandals, since people are less likely to cause trouble where they can easily be seen.
Similar discourage, dissuade, scare off, prevent
Opposite encourage, motivate, invite
From Latin deterrere, “to frighten away”: de- (away) + terrere (to frighten).