detainable

1 6.1

Allowed by law to be held by police or other authorities

adjective
/dɪˈteɪnəbl/

Formal

: detenible

During the investigation, several suspects were found to be detainable due to their involvement in illegal activities.

Examples

Individuals who pose a threat to national security are often considered detainable by law enforcement agencies.
They changed the subject by instead asking courts to agree that people like Mr. Bensayah, looked at from another angle, had performed functions that made them effectively part of the terrorist organization—and so were clearly detainable.

Blog text (1)
But some criticized the notion that the United States could also consider mere supporters, arrested far away, to be just as detainable without trial as enemy fighters.

Blog text (1)
According to the new guidelines, anyone suspected of terrorism-related offenses may be classified as detainable without a warrant.

Surface Forms

detainable positive

Morphology

detainable = detain (transparent) = detain + able

Meaning is directly derived from the verb 'detain' with the productive adjectival suffix '-able' meaning 'able to be detained'.

Etymology

Detainable comes from the verb detain, which has the root tain meaning 'to hold', the same root you see in retain and contain. So, if someone is detainable, they are 'able to be held' by the police or other authorities.