Corporal punishment is meant to be a deterrent to indiscipline.

Step 1: Analyze the question The underlined word is deterrent. We need the option closest in meaning to it in the sentence "Corporal punishment is meant to be a deterrent to indiscipline."

Step 2: Explain the concept A deterrent is something that discourages people from doing something, usually by making them afraid of the consequences. It comes from the verb deter, which means to discourage or put off someone from acting.

Step 3: Work through the options

• A. remedy: a cure for something that has already happened. A deterrent works before the act, not after, so this is wrong.
• B. measure: a general word for an action or step. It is too vague and does not capture the idea of discouraging.
• C. discouragement: something that puts people off an action. This matches deterrent closely.
• D. prevention: this is close, but prevention means stopping something completely. A deterrent only discourages by creating fear of punishment, and it does not guarantee that the behavior stops.

Step 4: Answer In the sentence, corporal punishment is meant to discourage students from misbehaving. The best match is **C.

Tip: Link the prefix and root. De- often means "away from" or "down", so deter means to turn someone away from an action. When two options look similar (like discouragement and prevention), choose the one that matches the exact strength of the word. A deterrent discourages, and it does not necessarily stop.