retention

/ri'tenʃn/
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retention

The soil's retention of moisture helps the plants grow.

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • The act of keeping something in one's possession or control: The state or fact of retaining something.
    • The ability to retain or hold something, especially liquid or information: The power of holding or containing.
    • The continued possession, use, or control of something: The act of keeping something in existence or in a particular state.
    • (Medical) The abnormal holding of a substance within the body: For example, the inability to void urine or feces.
Usage and Examples
  • General Use (Act of Keeping):
    • The retention of key documents is essential for the audit. (Keeping key documents is essential.)
    • The company's data retention policy lasts for seven years. (The policy for keeping data lasts seven years.)
  • Ability to Hold (Liquid/Information):
    • This soil has excellent water retention. (This soil holds water very well.)
    • The course aims to improve information retention. (The course aims to improve the ability to remember information.)
  • Continued Possession/Control:
    • Employee retention is a major goal for the HR department. (Keeping employees is a major goal.)
  • Medical Context:
    • The patient was suffering from urinary retention. (The patient was unable to empty their bladder.)
Advanced Usage
  • "Retention rate": A metric, often expressed as a percentage, measuring the ability to keep members, customers, or employees over a period.
    • The university boasts a high student retention rate.
  • "Retention period": The length of time data or records are kept before being destroyed or archived.
    • The legal retention period for tax records is six years.
Variants and Related Words
  • Retain (verb): To keep or continue to have something.
    • She retained a copy of the letter.
  • Retentive (adjective): Having the ability to retain or remember.
    • He has a retentive memory for details.
  • Retentiveness / Retentivity (noun): The quality of being retentive.
    • The retentivity of the material was tested.
Synonyms
  • Keeping: The act of holding or retaining.
  • Maintenance: The process of preserving or continuing a state.
  • Preservation: The act of keeping something safe from harm or decay.
  • Memory: The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information (in the context of information retention).
Antonyms
  • Release: The act of setting free or letting go.
  • Loss: The fact or process of losing something.
  • Forgetting: Failure to remember.
Related Phrases and Terms
  • Customer retention: The activities and actions companies take to reduce customer defections.
  • Selective retention: The process by which people are more likely to remember messages that are consistent with their pre-existing attitudes and beliefs.
retention

The soil's retention of moisture helps the plants grow.

Noun
  1. the power of retaining liquid
    • moisture retentivity of soil
  2. the power of retaining and recalling past experience
    • he had a good memory when he was younger
  3. the act of retaining something