1
as in apprehends
to take or keep (someone) in confinement by authority of law
Police detained the suspect.
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2
as in delays
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.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of detains
The Pinault family owns 42 percent of shares in Kering and detains 59 percent of voting rights.
—
Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2025
The play is set in the real-life town of Lumpkin, whose economy has become reliant on a private prison that detains immigrants.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2025
The play is set in the real-life town of Lumpkin, whose economy has become reliant on a private prison that detains immigrants.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detains
Verb
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Suppose the number is read in one case out of a hundred, and that the information reaches someone who apprehends the culprit in one case out of one thousand.—
Thomas Brewster,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Department officials later told her in texts and emails that delays completing the more detailed review of Rochelle’s home were her fault.—
Jayme Fraser,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
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But that was before the arrival of teplizumab, a monoclonal antibody approved in late 2022 that delays the advance of the illness and may even halt it at stage 2 in some people.—
Tara Haelle,
Scientific American,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Yes, the business slows down for a week every few months.—
Tori Dunlap,
CNBC,
4 Nov. 2025
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This coupling effectively slows the electrons down, ultimately causing the material to lose its conductivity and become an insulator.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Dolores notices they are gone and begins to lash out, and Abby seizes an opportunity to knock Dolores out.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
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Continue reading … CRYPTO CRACKDOWN – DOJ seizes record $15 billion in Bitcoin in largest US forfeiture ever.—
,
FOXNews.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detains. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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