detain[verb]Synonyms:- delay, check, hinder, hold up, impede, keep back, retard, slow up (
or down)
- hold, arrest, confine, intern, restrain
Related Words: buttonhole,
hold,
restrain,
check,
curb,
inhibit [TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
de‧tain /dɪˈteɪn/
verb [transitive][
Date: 1400-1500;
Language: Old French;
Origin: detenir, from Latin detinere, from tenere 'to hold']
1. to officially prevent someone from leaving a place:
Two suspects have been detained by the police for questioning. She was detained in hospital with a suspected broken leg.2. [usually passive] formal to stop someone from leaving as soon as they expected
Synonym : delay:
He was detained in Washington on urgent business. [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲