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

As advocates have noted, however, many migrants aren’t given a proper hearing and receive as little as a day’s notice before they are sent to a distant country, where they are detained upon arrival. — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026

Police tracked down Mire to a north Phoenix address, where she was detained. — David Ulloa Jr, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2026

Nafikov filed his habeas petition in April after being detained in Adams County Correctional Center for over a year and a half. — Carla Astudillo, ProPublica, 3 Sep. 2026

On the night Greene was shot, Skaggs said Jeffersonville’s SWAT team executed a search warrant at the apartment and detained two people. — Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Sep. 2026

Bartko was detained by ICE in Florida in June 2026, and taken to the Miramar ICE field office after local charges were dropped for a domestic battery charge. — Nathan Lee, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026

This week dozens of Haitian migrants were taken to the Krome Detention Center in southwest Miami-Dade after being detained in front of grocery stores and shopping malls. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

He was arrested a week later in Chicago by local police at Union Station after he was detained by Amtrak. — Charlotte Observer, 26 Aug. 2026

Las Madres Unidas en la Lucha were among about 40 women detained by immigration agents in March. — Drew Aunkst, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026