Synonyms of detained

detained 1 of 2

adjective

as in delayed

Related Words

• delayed
• postponed
• delinquent
• behind
• tardy
• belated
• late
• dragging
• overdue
• lagging
• latish
• unhurried
• behindhand
• laggard
• dilatory
• sluggish
• poky
• dawdling
• slow
• dallying
• dillydallying

Dissimilar Words

• early
• premature
• precocious
• untimely
• timely
• opportune
• unseasonable
• inopportune
• prompt
• seasonable
• punctual

detained

2 of 2

verb

past tense of detain

1

as in arrested

to take or keep (someone) in confinement by authority of law

Police detained the suspect.

Related Words

• arrested
• apprehended
• seized
• imprisoned
• jailed
• incarcerated
• restrained
• confined
• interned
• committed
• restricted
• collared
• nabbed
• captured
• ran in
• pinched
• locked (up)
• nicked
• limited
• held
• pulled in
• constrained
• shut
• picked up
• nailed
• busted
• grabbed
• barred
• snatched
• trapped
• jugged
• immured
• handcuffed
• bound
• caught
• snapped (up)
• gated
• shackled
• grappled
• remanded
• snared
• landed
• fettered
• rearrested
• hooked
• bagged
• manacled
• got
• enchained
• trammeled

Dissimilar Words

• released
• freed
• liberated
• emancipated
• sprang
• loosened
• loosed
• discharged
• unbound
• unchained

2

as in slowed

to keep (someone or something) from proceeding or progressing

She sent word that she had been unavoidably detained.

The plane was detained for hours due to inclement weather.

Related Words

• delayed
• slowed
• blocked
• set back
• suspended
• kept
• retarded
• impeded
• hindered
• stalled
• halted
• hesitated
• blockaded
• baffled
• obstructed
• paused
• balked
• snagged
• stemmed
• held up
• held
• held back
• extended
• prolonged
• arrested
• clogged
• dammed
• stretched (out)
• lengthened
• deferred
• protracted
• laid over
• remitted
• put over
• held over
• terminated
• put off
• cut off
• shelved
• repressed
• concluded
• bottlenecked
• ended
• discontinued
• held off (on)
• stopped
• checked
• turned back
• suppressed
• stunted
• stayed
• stilled
• reined (in)
• pulled up
• caught
• brought up
• drew up
• squashed
• called
• squelched
• choked off
• stanched
• fetched up

Dissimilar Words

• continued
• carried on
• persisted
• kept (on)
• marched
• moved
• kept up
• proceeded
• advanced
• progressed
• ran on
• went along
• pushed
• stirred
• fared
• drove
• actuated
• followed through (with)
• impelled
• spurred
• propelled
• wended
• goaded
• budged

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of detained

Verb

Officers located and detained Stein in the area, and after a search, found a mini camera that had been discarded in a nearby trash can, police said. — Breaking News, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026

Parizek said officers responded within three minutes and quickly captured the suspect, who was detained along a nearby bike path without resistance. — ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026

Gatti and Hunt had also been detained by city police while observing ICE enforcement in south Sacramento. — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026

Two people have been detained, officials said, and two people have been taken to a nearby hospital. — CBS News, 29 Oct. 2026

The news spread quickly and the Argentine immigration police detained the aircraft in the morning. — Florencia Cabral, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026

Kim Aris, the London son of former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said he was allowed a 20-minute phone call from the Nobel Peace Prize winner detained in her native country and who has not been seen publicly in five years. — Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026