dehortatives

Noun

dehortative (plural dehortatives)

1. Anything that serves to dissuade; a disincentive or discouragement.
   • My father taking me to see Dr. Raine, Master of the Charter House, the doctor, who was very kind and pleasant, but who probably drew none of our deductions in favour of the young writer's abilitites, warned me against the perils of authorship; adding, as a final dehortative, that " the shelves were...1828, Leigh Hunt, Lord Byron and some of his contemporaries, page 182
2. A syntactic marker, word, or phrase that indicates a dehortative sense.
   • The dehortative is essentially a negative imperative in most cases, but can be used with all persons in the sense of 'should not', 'must not' or 'let not'.1996, Malcolm Ross, Studies in Languages of New Britain and New Ireland, page 270

See all 4 meanings of dehortative