Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [ri-teyn]
- /rɪˈteɪn/
- /rɪˈteɪn/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [ri-teyn]
- /rɪˈteɪn/
Definitions of retain word
- verb with object retain to keep possession of. 1
- verb with object retain to continue to use, practice, etc.: to retain an old custom. 1
- verb with object retain to continue to hold or have: to retain a prisoner in custody; a cloth that retains its color. 1
- verb with object retain to keep in mind; remember. 1
- verb with object retain to hold in place or position. 1
- verb with object retain to engage, especially by payment of a preliminary fee: to retain a lawyer. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of retain
First appearance:
before 1350 One of the 20% oldest English words
1350-1400; Middle English reteinen < Old French retenir < Latin retinēre to hold back, hold fast, equivalent to re- re- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre to hold
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Retain
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
retain popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 88% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.
retain usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for retain
verb retain
- auctioned — Also called public sale. a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to the highest bidder.
- be-thought — simple past tense and past participle of bethink.
- beat off — to drive back; repel
- bring to mind — recall
- call up — If you call someone up, you telephone them.
Antonyms for retain
verb retain
- abalienate — (civil law, transitive) To transfer the title of from one to another; to alienate.
- abandon — If you abandon a place, thing, or person, you leave the place, thing, or person permanently or for a long time, especially when you should not do so.
- abdicate — If a king or queen abdicates, he or she gives up being king or queen.
- abscind — to cut off
- accounted — an oral or written description of particular events or situations; narrative: an account of the meetings; an account of the trip.
Top questions with retain
- what does retain mean?
- how to retain information?
- how to retain what you read?
- how to retain information better?
- how to retain employees?
- why do i retain water?
- how to retain water?
- how to not retain water?
- what is retain?
- what makes you retain water?
- why do you retain water?
- how long to retain tax records?
- why does the body retain water?
- how to retain customers?
- why do people retain water?
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with r
- Words starting with re
- Words starting with ret
- Words starting with reta
- Words starting with retai
- Words starting with retain