retention

Meaning

1. (countable, uncountable) The act of retaining or something retained.
2. (countable, uncountable) The act or power of remembering things.
3. (countable, uncountable) Memory; what is retained in the mind.
4. (countable, uncountable) The involuntary withholding of urine and faeces.
5. (countable, uncountable) The length of time a patient remains in treatment.
6. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) That which contains something, as a tablet; a means of preserving impressions.
7. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) The act of withholding; restraint; reserve.
8. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A place of custody or confinement.
9. (countable, uncountable) The right to withhold a debt, or of retaining property until a debt due to the person claiming the right is duly paid; a lien.
10. (countable, uncountable) The portion of a potential damage that must be paid for by the holder of an insurance policy.

Synonyms

keeping

preservation

maintenance

memory

conservation

retentivity

retentiveness

holding

hold

detention

storage

preserve

keep

maintain

remembrance

reservation

marshal

possession

protection

recall

recollection

remembering

reserve

residence

saving

stagnation

storing

tie-up

traction

upkeep

warden

warder

watchman

falling into arrears

continue to have

staticize

financial retention

repositing

accumulation

interception of precipitation

allocate

anamnesis

arrest

arrestment

charge

congestion

custody

deduction

duty period

guard

💂

Translations

rétention

ritenzione

retención

Beibehaltung

retenção

behoud

retentie

conservation

garde

💂

mémoire

Retention

conservazione

bewaring

maintien

retenció

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹɪˈtɛnʃən/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: retencioun

In summary

From Middle English retencioun, borrowed from Latin retentiō, retentiōnis, from retentus, the perfect passive participle of retineō (“retain”) (from re- (“back, again”) + teneō (“hold, keep”)).