retain
retain is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 4 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.
Definitions
- 1.To keep in pay; to employ by a preliminary fee paid; to hire; to engage; as, to retain a counselor. A Benedictine convent has now retained the most learned father of their order to write in its defense. Addison.
- 2.To restrain; to prevent. [Obs.] Sir W. Temple. Retaining wall (Arch. & Engin.), a wall built to keep any movable backing, or a bank of sand or earth, in its place; -- called also retain wall. See Keep.
- 3.To belong; to pertain. [Obs.] A somewhat languid relish, retaining to bitterness. Boyle.
- 4.To keep; to continue; to remain. [Obs.] Donne.
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Synonyms
Synonyms (Webster's 1913)
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Related terms (Roget's 1911)
- back
- become
- bird
- bond
- bring
- captive
- clench
- clinch
- close
- clutch
- come
- custody
- detain
- detention
- down
- entail
- fast
- finger
- firm
- fist
- forceps
- grasp
- grip
- gripe
- ground
- hand
- have
- hold
- hook
- hug
- husband
- inalienable
- incommunicable
- interval
- iron
- keep
- lucid
- lucidity
- mind
- mortmain
Source: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
Related questions
Reverse-dictionary questions
Definition-first questions whose answer is retain.
Sources
- Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Synonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/retain
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