Synonyms for detain
dɪˈteɪnde·tain

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 2 votes

1. detain

   The legal term arrest carries always the implication of a legal offense; this is true even of arresting for debt. But one may be detained by process of law when no offense is alleged against him, as in the case of a witness who is held in a house of detention till a case comes to trial. One may be restrained of his liberty without arrest, as in an insane asylum; an individual or corporation may be restrained by injunction from selling certain property. In case of an arrest, an officer may secure his prisoner by fetters, by a locked door, or other means effectually to prevent escape. Capture is commonly used of seizure by armed force; as, to capture a ship, a fort, etc. Compare HINDER; OBSTRUCT.

   Synonyms:
   apprehend, arrest, capture, catch, hold, make prisoner, restrain, secure, seize, stop, take into custody, take prisoner

   Antonyms:
   discharge, dismiss, free, liberate, release, set free

   Preposition:
   Arrested for crime, on suspicion, by the sheriff; on, upon, or by virtue of a warrant; on final process; in execution.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.5 / 4 votes

1. detain

   Synonyms:
   stay, keep, arrest, check, withhold, delay, restrain, embargo, stop

   Antonyms:
   liberate, expedite, accelerate, dismiss, loose, disembargo

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. confine, detainverb

   deprive of freedom; take into confinement

   Synonyms:
   restrict, hold, bound, restrain, circumscribe, stay, throttle, hold in, hold up, confine, delay, limit, trammel, enclose

2. stay, detain, delayverb

   stop or halt

   "Please stay the bloodshed!"

   Synonyms:
   quell, delay, bide, stick, stay, last out, confine, hold up, ride out, persist, check, rest, appease, remain, stick around, abide, retard, stay on, stay put, outride, continue

3. delay, detain, hold upverb

   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"

   Synonyms:
   go, live, stick up, stay, last, delay, confine, hold up, hold out, hold, sustain, hold water, live on, support, check, retard, endure, stand up, withstand, defy, survive

Matched Categories

1. • Check
   • Slow

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. detainverb

   Synonyms:
   restrain, stay, check, delay, retain, stop, keep back

2. detainverb

   Synonyms:
   confine, hold in custody

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "detain":

   detains, arrests, arrest, detention, nabs, incarcerate, apprehend, imprison, arresting, hold, stop, detained, nab, captures, arrested

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How to use detain in a sentence?

1. Anon Numpa:

   There was no point to detain them.

2. Bob Rubin:

   The evidence shows overwhelmingly that Travis McMichael honestly and lawfully attempted to detain Ahmaud Arbery according to the law and shot and killed Travis McMichael in self-defense.

3. Andrei Isaev:

   There need to be stringent measures taken in relation to this gang of spies, murderers and terrorists, this is treason. All these people related to such organizations, should be prosecuted a traitors. This is a matter of honor to detain the heads of these organizations no matter where they are.

4. Claude Arnold:

   Defenders of sanctuary policies say they protect immigrants from deportation and reduce illegal immigrants ’ fear of cops. But critics, including Homeland Security Department officials say releasing illegal immigrant criminals inside the U.S. is dangerous. Claude Arnold, a retired U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, said sanctuary advocates claim immigration enforcement is the exclusive responsibility of the federal government, however enacting laws like the California Trust Act, which dictates how the federal government can enforce the law, contradicts those claims and can be devastating consequences. The murder of 32-year-old Kathlene Steinle’s in June 2015 by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is a prime example, Claude Arnold said. Steinle was shot dead while strolling on San Francisco’s Embarcadero with her father. The alleged shooter, a felon and five-time deportee, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges, claiming the shooting was an accident. Those responsible for releasing him not long before the shooting despite a federal request to detain him for deportation should also have consequences, Claude Arnold said. When sanctuary jurisdictions like San Francisco County release criminals that officials know are in the U.S. illegally, and those criminals commit heinous crimes, those responsible should be federally prosecuted.

5. Syahredzan Johan:

   Parliamentary immunity does not extend to alleged offences under the Sedition Act, but there's the more important argument that you need to detain her overnight, when all you wanted to do was record her statement.