retain
[verb]
Synonyms:
- keep, hold, hold back, maintain, preserve, reserve, save
- hire, commission, employ, engage, pay, reserve

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Contrasted words: abdicate, resign, abjure, forswear, recant, renounce, retract

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

re‧tain W2 AC /rɪˈteɪn/ verb [transitive] formal
[Word Family: verb: retain; noun: retention]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: retenir, from Latin retinere, from tenere 'to hold']

1. to keep something or continue to have something:
You have the right to retain possession of the goods.
The state wants to retain control of food imports.

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In everyday English, people usually say keep rather than retain:
Keep all your receipts.

2. to store or keep something inside something else:
A lot of information can be retained in your computer.
Limestone is known to retain moisture.

3. to remember information:
I find it very difficult to retain facts.

4. if you retain a lawyer or other specialist, you pay them to work for you now and in the future:
He has retained a lawyer to challenge the court’s decision.
We had to pay a retaining fee (=an amount of money to keep someone working for you).

5. if a company retains workers, it continues to employ them for a long time:
It’s increasingly difficult to recruit and retain good staff.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

retain
verb
ADV. still | no longer | somehow Despite the decay the mosque somehow retained a profound grandeur.
VERB + RETAIN be keen to, hope to, want to, wish to | attempt to, seek to, struggle to, try to He struggled to retain control of the situation.
manage to | help (to) | be allowed to, be entitled to, have the right to He was allowed to retain his parliamentary seat.
PREP. as The president retained her as his chief adviser.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲