to detain
197
5.9
- verb
- /dɪˈteɪn/
- Formal
- Uh, no, we have no right to detain anyone.
- detained in jail
- detained by the police
- arrested or detained
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Watch on YouTubeAnd by the way, not in here in LA, but because they're detained in a FEMA camp.
- And by the way, not in here in LA, but because they're detained in a FEMA camp.
- I can remember being detained, arrested several times in holding pens.
- A lot of these people end up in concentration camps, which just means a place where they are detained, imprisoned without trial.
- We had to go and kick someone's door in, raid their house, perhaps apprehend or detain, you know, the man of the house, take him in for questioning.
- The response then, as it's been every time is that we will not approach, speak to confront or detain A suspect because it could incite the crowd.
- And we will hopefully do that with an amendment and also limit the CIA's ability to detain anybody.
Examples
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Strange visitors are noted, followed, and in many cases are detained and interrogated.
Academic text (1996) -
Russian police have even detained people for carrying blank signs.
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When necessary, we must be able to detain and question them.
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Security forces can then detain suspects for one year without trial.
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The UK is the only EU country to detain people indefinitely.
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When she flew to England for an award in an audience with the Queen, she was detained by border agents as a suspected imposter.
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The boy fled, along with other bystanders, and was detained by a policeman.
Academic text (1998) -
For the past two months, Sammy has been detained in the Delta prison in Sepally.
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So I was detained under the Terrorism Act and questioned for six hours about my lawful legal doings.
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The police decided to detain the suspect for further questioning after the robbery.
Synonyms
525
4.0
Put someone or something in a place where they cannot leave, for example a jail
147
5.8
To lock someone in prison or a secure place
131
4.2
Put someone in prison as a punishment or keep them locked up
111
4.2
Keep someone or something within limits, for example in a small space
111
6.1
To arrest someone and put them in police custody
90
8.4
To put someone in prison and keep them there
8
2.1
To put someone in prison as punishment
Antonyms
How Restricted
- Formal
131
4.2
- Formal
197
5.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
detain = de + tain
The element 'tain' is a Latin combining form meaning 'hold' and is not a standalone English word, so learners cannot reliably derive the meaning from 'de' + 'tain'.
Etymology
Detain comes from old Latin parts de- 'away' and tenere 'to hold', like in retain and contain. So, to detain someone in this sense is to keep them 'in official custody' or 'not allow them to leave' while officials ask questions.