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retain

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Often followed by from: to hold back.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rihtayn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɹɪˈteɪn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.

  2. transitiveeducation

    To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year; to keep back.

  3. transitive

    Of a thing: to hold or keep (something) inside it; to contain.

  4. Hold back within

  5. transitive

    To hold (something) secure; to prevent (something) from becoming detached or separated.

  6. Secure and keep for possible future use or application

    “The landlord retained the security deposit.”

noun

  1. An act of holding or keeping something; a possession, a retention.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop.

Used this way, retain is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use retain

  • “The landlord retained the security deposit.”verb
  • “This soil retains water.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

retain controlretain possession

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • hold

    To restrain oneself; to refrain; to hold back.

  • hold back

    To contain; stop.

  • keep back

    To restrict or restrain.

  • reserve

    Hold back or set aside, especially for future use or contingency.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • retainernounInflected form

    A fee charged in advance to retain the services of someone.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • retained objectnounCompound term

    An object in a passive construction.

  • retaining wallnounCompound term

    A wall that is built to resist lateral pressure (especially a wall built to prevent the advance of a mass of earth).

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: often followed by from

holdArchaickeep backcontinue

noun

Sense: holding or keeping something

keepholdreserve

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.