détente
Syllables: dé·tente/deɪˈtɑːnt//deɪˈtɑnt/
détente noun: relaxing of tension, especially between countries; (countable) an instance of this.
Noun
détente (countable and uncountable, plural détentes)
- Relaxing of tension, especially between countries; (countable) an instance of this.
- They had a vague feeling that after the dislocations and the violence which the Impressionists inflicted on the picturesque, the eyes of their contemporaries necessarily needed a little rest. Instinct and reflection were no less ready to warn them that the last hours were at hand of one of those...1897 May 15, André Michel, “The Salons at Paris”, in The Athenæum: Journal of English and Foreign Literature, Science, the Fine Arts, Music and the Drama, number 3629, London: Printed by John Edward...
- Although the Pope [Leo XIII]'s decision was in favour of Spain, it brought about quite a détente between Berlin and Rome.1899, Julien de Narfon, “A Political Pope”, in G. A. Raper, transl., Pope Leo XIII: His Life and Work […], London: Chapman & Hall, →OCLC, page 185
détente meaning in Hindi, Arabic, Malay and Indonesian
détente in Hindi
- relaxing of tension, especially between countries; an instance of this
- तनावशैथिल्य tanāvśaithilya
détente in Arabic
- relaxing of tension, especially between countries; an instance of this
- انفراج دولي
détente in Malay
- relaxing of tension, especially between countries; an instance of this
- detente
détente in Indonesian
- relaxing of tension, especially between countries; an instance of this
- détente
More languagesFewer languages
- détente in Persian
- دتانت detânt
- détente in Thai
- การผ่อนคลายความตึงเครียด
- détente in Vietnamese
- détente
Examples of détente in a sentence
- Analogous structural and political constraints stood in the way of a lasting détente between Germany and Britain.2012, Christopher Clark, “Last Chances: Détente and Danger, 1912–1914”, in The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, 1st American...
- No step the United States could take anywhere in the world would bring strategic benefits as great as détente with Iran.2014 January 14, Stephen Kinzer, “Invading Iraq was dumb enough. Now Congress wants to derail the Iran deal”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor...
Forms of détente
| plural | détentes |
|---|---|
| alternative form | detente |
Origin of détente
Unadapted borrowing from French détente (“loosening, relaxing”), from Latin *dētendita, a feminine singular participle of dētendō (“to relax”), from dē- (prefix meaning ‘from; of’) + tendō (“to stretch”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tend- (“to stretch”)).
Words that rhyme with détente
Questions about détente
- What does détente mean?
- Détente means relaxing of tension, especially between countries; (countable) an instance of this.
- What is détente in Hindi?
- Détente in Hindi is तनावशैथिल्य (tanāvśaithilya). See Détente meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use détente in a sentence?
- Analogous structural and political constraints stood in the way of a lasting détente between Germany and Britain.
- What part of speech is détente?
- Détente is a noun.
- How do you pronounce détente?
- Détente is pronounced /deɪˈtɑːnt/ (UK).
- What is the plural of détente?
- The plural of détente is détentes.
Words near détente in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: détente (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-détente.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-detente.wav.
Cite this entry: “détente.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/d%C3%A9tente. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.