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
• pausing
• halting
• hesitating
• holding
• prolonging
• balking
• lengthening
• clogging
• deferring
• baffling
• holding back
• holding up
• setting back
• damming
• stretching (out)
• arresting
• terminating
• protracting
• repressing
• remitting
• holding over
• bottlenecking
• shelving
• concluding
• ending
• discontinuing
• cutting off
• holding off (on)
• suppressing
• stopping
• 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

Clampdown Over the weekend, Indian security forces reportedly clamped down on protests in the capital city, detaining young people, several opposition party politicians, YouTubers, lawyers and a few journalists. — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026

Following Saturday's protests, authorities launched a sweeping security crackdown in the capital, detaining more than 2,000 protesters, including several opposition lawmakers. — ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026

Journalists also faced restrictions in some areas, with police briefly detaining some of them. — Sheikh Saaliq, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Last year, the Republican administration began suddenly terminating the legal status of thousands of international students, detaining and deporting many of them. — Annie Ma, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026

Nearly 500 federal, state and local officers descended on the sprawling plant, detaining 475 workers, mostly South Koreans. — Hanna Park, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026

One day, her teen-age daughter, on the way to choir practice, witnessed ICE detaining someone outside her bus; Bre sent her children to stay with relatives in the suburbs. — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Other images and videos show immigration agents forcefully detaining men on the street. — Tony Aiello, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026

The court ruled that assigning an egregiously high bail, despite a defendant’s income declaration, was just a way of detaining them. — Evelyn Ronan, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026