detain (redirected from detainments)

de·tain  (d-tn)

tr.v. de·tained, de·tain·ing, de·tains

1. To keep from proceeding; delay or retard.

2. To keep in custody or temporary confinement: The police detained several suspects for questioning. The disruptive students were detained after school until their parents had been notified.

3. Obsolete To retain or withhold (payment or property, for example).

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[Middle English deteinen, from Old French detenir, from Vulgar Latin *dtenre, from Latin dtinre : d-, de- + tenre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

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de·tainment n.

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detain

Verb

1. to delay (someone)

2. to force (someone) to stay: the police detained him for questioning [Latin detinere]

detainee n
detainment n

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	detain - deprive of freedom; take into confinement confine keep - hold and prevent from leaving; "The student was kept after school" straiten - squeeze together gaol, immure, imprison, incarcerate, jail, jug, put behind bars, remand, lag, put away - lock up or confine, in or as in a jail; "The suspects were imprisoned without trial"; "the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life" intern - deprive of freedom; "During WW II, Japanese were interned in camps in the West" bind over - order a defendant to be placed in custody pending the outcome of a proceedings against him or her; "The defendant was bound over for trial" imprison - confine as if in a prison; "His daughters are virtually imprisoned in their own house; he does not let them go out without a chaperone" cage, cage in - confine in a cage; "The animal was caged" trap, pin down - place in a confining or embarrassing position; "He was trapped in a difficult situation" keep in - cause to stay indoors
	2.	detain - stop or halt; "Please stay the bloodshed!" delay, stay retard, delay, check - slow the growth or development of; "The brain damage will retard the child's language development"
	3.	detain - cause to be slowed down or delayed; "Traffic was delayed by the bad weather"; "she delayed the work that she didn't want to perform" delay, hold up decelerate, slow, slow down, slow up, retard - lose velocity; move more slowly; "The car decelerated" stonewall - engage in delaying tactics or refuse to cooperate; "The President stonewalled when he realized the plot was being uncovered by a journalist" catch - delay or hold up; prevent from proceeding on schedule or as planned; "I was caught in traffic and missed the meeting" stall - deliberately delay an event or action; "she doesn't want to write the report, so she is stalling" buy time - act so as to delay an event or action in order to gain an advantage

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detain

verb 1. hold, arrest, confine, restrain, imprison, intern, take prisoner, take into custody, hold in custody

verb 2. delay, keep, stop, hold up, hamper, hinder, retard, impede, keep back, slow up or down

Translations

detain [dɪˈteɪn] vt → retener;

(in captivity) → detener

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detain [dɪˈteɪn] vt → retenir;

(in captivity) → détenir;

(in hospital) → hospitaliser

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detain [dɪˈteɪn] vt → aufhalten;

(in captivity) → in Haft halten;

(in hospital) → festhalten

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detain [dɪˈteɪn] vt → trattenere;

(in captivity) → detenere