Retain — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

hold back within

allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ɹᵻtˈeɪn/

🇬🇧British English

/ɹɪtˈeɪn/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɹɪtˈeɪn/

2 syllables Say it as /ɹᵻtˈeɪn/.

Examples

This soil retains water
I retain this drug for a long time
the dam retains the water

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

keep hold continue keep on hold back keep back

Parts of Speech

verb	hold back within “This soil retains water”
verb	allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature “We cannot continue several servants any longer”
verb	secure and keep for possible future use or application “The landlord retained the security deposit”
verb	keep in one's mind “I cannot retain so much information”

Word Forms

retentive	adjective	good at remembering
continuation	noun	the consequence of being lengthened in duration
retention	noun	the act of retaining something
holding	noun	the act of retaining something

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

zurückbehalten

halte dich innerlich zurück

🇫🇷French

retenir

retenir à l'intérieur

🇪🇸Spanish

retener

contenerse dentro

🇮🇹Italian

conservare

trattenerti dentro

🇳🇱Dutch

behouden

binnenhouden

🇵🇹Portuguese

reter

segure-se dentro

🇷🇺Russian

удерживать

сдерживаться внутри

India

🇮🇳Hindi

बनाए रखना

अपने भीतर रोके रखो

🇧🇩Bengali

ধরে রাখা

ভিতরে ফিরে রাখা

🇮🇳Tamil

தக்கவைத்துக்கொள்

உள்ளே தடுத்து நிறுத்து

🇮🇳Telugu

నిలుపుకుంటారు

లోపల తిరిగి పట్టుకోండి

🇮🇳Marathi

राखून ठेवणे

आत धरा

🇮🇳Gujarati

જાળવી રાખવું

અંદર પાછા પકડી રાખો

🇮🇳Kannada

ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತವೆ

ಒಳಗೆ ತಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിലനിർത്തുക

ഉള്ളിൽ പിടിക്കുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਬਰਕਰਾਰ ਰੱਖਣਾ

ਅੰਦਰ ਵਾਪਸ ਰੱਖੋ

🇵🇰Urdu

برقرار رکھنا

اندر واپس رکھو

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

保持

忍住内

🇯🇵Japanese

保持

内に抑え込む

🇰🇷Korean

유지하다

안에 참아라

🇻🇳Vietnamese

giữ lại

giữ lại bên trong

🇹🇭Thai

เก็บไว้

ระงับไว้ภายใน

🇮🇩Indonesian

mempertahankan

menahan diri di dalam

🇵🇭Filipino

panatilihin

magpigil sa loob

🇲🇾Malay

mengekalkan

tahan dalam

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

يحتفظ

التراجع داخل

🇮🇷Persian

حفظ کند

عقب نگه دارید در

🇹🇷Turkish

sürdürmek

içinde geri tut

🇮🇱Hebrew

לִשְׁמוֹר

להתאפק בפנים

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'retain'?

The primary meaning of 'retain' is 'hold back within'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'retain' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'retain' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'retain' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'retain' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'retain' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'retain' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'retain' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'retain' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'retain' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'retain' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted