Synonyms of detaining

detaining

verb

present participle of detain

1

as in arresting

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

Police detained the suspect.

Related Words

• arresting
• apprehending
• seizing
• restraining
• jailing
• imprisoning
• incarcerating
• confining
• restricting
• limiting
• pinching
• nicking
• committing
• shutting
• capturing
• holding
• nabbing
• constraining
• nailing
• running in
• grabbing
• pulling in
• collaring
• locking (up)
• snatching
• busting
• interning
• trapping
• barring
• picking up
• handcuffing
• gating
• snaring
• jugging
• catching
• bagging
• grappling
• hooking
• immuring
• snapping (up)
• binding
• landing
• remanding
• shackling
• fettering
• getting
• enchaining
• manacling
• trammeling
• rearresting

Dissimilar Words

• releasing
• freeing
• springing
• loosening
• emancipating
• liberating
• loosing
• discharging
• unchaining
• unbinding

2

as in delaying

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

• delaying
• slowing
• blocking
• hindering
• retarding
• keeping
• impeding
• obstructing
• suspending
• blockading
• snagging
• stalling
• stemming
• extending
• halting
• pausing
• hesitating
• holding
• prolonging
• balking
• lengthening
• clogging
• deferring
• baffling
• holding back
• holding up
• setting back
• damming
• stretching (out)
• arresting
• terminating
• repressing
• protracting
• remitting
• holding over
• shelving
• bottlenecking
• concluding
• ending
• discontinuing
• cutting off
• holding off (on)
• stopping
• suppressing
• putting over
• putting off
• checking
• staying
• squashing
• stunting
• turning back
• laying over
• squelching
• stilling
• calling
• catching
• reining (in)
• pulling up
• bringing up
• stanching
• drawing up
• choking off
• fetching up

Dissimilar Words

• continuing
• persisting
• keeping (on)
• carrying on
• proceeding
• moving
• advancing
• keeping up
• running on
• marching
• progressing
• pushing
• stirring
• driving
• going along
• actuating
• following through (with)
• propelling
• spurring
• faring
• impelling
• wending
• goading
• budging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of detaining

The vehicle is seen parked near others that federal agents were seen using while detaining a person. —Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 29 Oct. 2025

Hundreds of agents swarmed apartments in the multi-story building, detaining several American citizens, including children, for hours and netting 37 total arrests. —Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025

But local journalists confirmed the video was of agents detaining a protester. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2025

Armed agents with fully automatic weapons of war stand outside the ICE facility in South Waterfront, where the city recently accused the agency of violating its own land-use permit by detaining people overnight. —MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025

Iran has accused France of arbitrarily detaining Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian student living in the French city of Lyon, who was arrested this year over anti-Israel social media posts. —CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025

Police ultimately arrested a 19-year-old white man for the shooting days after mistakenly detaining Leasy. —Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025

At a recent forum on public safety sponsored by the policy journal Vital City, he was asked about police involuntarily detaining the mentally ill. —Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025

The mayor also referenced ICE officers reportedly detaining Chicago Alderperson Jessie Fuentes and utilizing tear gas on residents on Friday. —Max Rego, The Hill, 6 Oct. 2025