1
as in servant
a person hired to perform household or personal services
knights being dressed for battle by their retainers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in employee
one who works for another for wages or a salary
lifelong civil service retainers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of retainer
Terrell demanded a $100,000 retainer.
—
Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 27 Aug. 2025
Or, Wu suggested, instead of opting for clear plastic aligners, a person could get metal braces or retainers.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2025
Commercial products may be labeled as water retainers or penetrants.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 16 Aug. 2025
He was paid a $4,000 monthly retainer in the 2022-23 school year and continues to contract with the school.
—Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for retainer
Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 27 Aug. 2025
Or, Wu suggested, instead of opting for clear plastic aligners, a person could get metal braces or retainers.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2025
Commercial products may be labeled as water retainers or penetrants.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 16 Aug. 2025
He was paid a $4,000 monthly retainer in the 2022-23 school year and continues to contract with the school.
—Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for retainer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retainer
Noun
-
If dogs are our servants, cats are our shadows.—
Rebecca van Laer
September 30,
Literary Hub,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Beckett’s symbols of master and slave — the whip, the rope, the servant weighed down with baggage — are either mimed or cut and in doing so lose its real horror.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Boilerplate language in the budgets of several state agencies calls for measures to ensure state office space is 80% utilized and for polices, procedures, and monitoring that ensure state employees working remotely are doing their jobs.—
Paul Egan,
Freep.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Once, during a farewell party for a beloved employee, guests watched a tiramisu flip over all on its own.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Lucia Balordi as Nastasia, Ellen’s ladies’ maid who has become a close friend and confidant.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Burnett was content to mine references from her own Depression-era youth; her famous maid character, the Charwoman, who became something of a show mascot, harked back to Chaplin’s Little Tramp, wearing a rumpled outfit and performing silent reveries.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Other employees, including those in the military and air traffic control workers, must work without compensation until a budget deal is reached.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
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At 18, her co-worker Taylor Robinson had yet to vote.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Retainer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retainer. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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