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detention

detention

129 2.2
A punishment that makes a student stay at school after classes
  • noun
  • /dɪˈtɛnʃən/
: castigo
  • You know, I spent half of school in detention.
  • school detention
  • detention and suspension
  • detention time

OK, and I went to detention for that and I understood you cannot raise your hand right now.

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Examples

  • At that, Mr. Stern reprimands the outburst, and Joe receives a detention.

    Academic text (2012)
  • So this kid just got detention in class for watching the lot.

  • The student would receive no more than an afternoon of detention, if that.

    Academic text (2008)
  • You just earned yourself a detention, sir.

  • Don't forget you have detention after school today.

  • If Steps 1 and 2 are ineffective, the student will be given detention, and the student's parent will be contacted.

    Academic text (2014)
  • After misbehaving in class, he was assigned to detention for an hour after school.

  • The teacher announced that any student caught talking would have to serve detention after lessons.

  • If you continue to disrupt the class, you will find yourself in detention again.

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

The right to act, speak, or think as you want without being stopped

279 1.8

An act of letting someone or something go free from being held

Compounds

36 4.6

A place where people are kept for a short time, like prisoners or migrants, while their case is decided

A locked place where young people who break the law are kept

A large room in a jail or police station where officers keep several people for a short time

A place where refugees or migrants are kept temporarily while officials decide if they can enter the country

1 6.5

A place where young people who have broken the law stay temporarily under court supervision

1 7.7

A place where young people who broke the law are kept by the court for a short time

1 6.2

A place where young people who broke the law stay temporarily under court care

detention basin
  • Specialized
6.3

A built area that holds rainwater from storms briefly and releases it slowly to reduce flooding downstream

A place where authorities keep young people for a short time after breaking the law

How Severe

expulsion
39 6.1
suspension
  • Formal
71 4.6
detention
129 2.2
reprimand
  • Formal
24 6.1
warning
1.0

Surface Forms

detention singular
detentions plural

Morphology

detention = detain (transparent) = detain + tion

A straightforward nominalization of the verb 'detain' indicating the action or result of being detained; the school-punishment sense is a specific institutional application but remains directly derived.

Etymology

The word detention comes from Latin parts de- 'away' and tenere 'to hold', the same root you see in retain. So school detention is being 'held back' after class.