detain

/di'tein/

Definition

Verb:
- To keep from proceeding; to delay or hold back: To cause someone or something to be slowed down or made to wait.
- To keep in custody; to confine: To deprive of freedom, typically by official authority.

Usage

To delay or hold back: Used when a person or circumstance causes a temporary stop or slowdown.
To take into custody: Used in legal or official contexts when someone is held by authorities, often for questioning or arrest.

Examples

To delay:
- The police officer detained the driver for a routine document check, causing a brief delay.
- I was detained by an unexpected phone call and missed the start of the meeting.
To take into custody:
- The suspect was detained for further questioning.
- Authorities have the power to detain individuals who pose a security threat.

Advanced Usage

"To be detained at [someone's] pleasure": A legal phrase meaning to be held in custody indefinitely, often for psychiatric reasons or by executive order, without a fixed sentence.
- The patient was detained at Her Majesty's pleasure following the court's ruling.
"Detainee" (noun): A person held in custody, especially for political reasons or without trial.
- The camp held hundreds of political detainees.

Variants and Related Words

Detention (noun): The act of detaining or the state of being detained.
- He was sentenced to a week's detention for breaking school rules.
- The detention of the shipment at customs caused significant problems.
Detainable (adjective): Capable of being legally detained.
- Under the new law, non-citizens without documentation are detainable.

Synonyms

Related Phrasal Verbs

(This word is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meaning is typically expressed directly.)

Related Idioms

To be detained indefinitely: To be held with no specified release date.
- The journalist was detained indefinitely by the regime.

Verb

cause to be slowed down or delayed
- Traffic was delayed by the bad weather
- she delayed the work that she didn't want to perform
stop or halt
- Please stay the bloodshed!
deprive of freedom; take into confinement

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