retentive

/ri'tentiv/

Thân thiện

A gardener checks the soil to see if it is retentive after watering.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having the power or capacity to retain or hold: Describes something that can keep or hold onto something else, such as a substance holding moisture.
   • Having a good memory; able to remember facts and impressions easily and for a long time: Describes a mind or memory that retains information effectively.

Usage

• The primary use of "retentive" is to describe an object's physical capacity to hold something or a person's mental capacity to remember.
• It is often followed by the preposition "of" when describing what is being retained (e.g., retentive of moisture).
• When describing memory, it is typically used attributively before nouns like "mind" or "memory."

Examples

• Describing physical retention:
  • Clay is a retentive soil, ideal for holding water for plants.
  • The sponge is highly retentive of liquid.
• Describing mental retention:
  • She has a remarkably retentive memory for names and faces.
  • A retentive mind is a great asset for a historian.

Advanced Usage

• "Retentive of": This phrase specifies what is being held or retained.
  • The fabric is specially treated to be retentive of heat.
• In a more figurative or psychological context, it can describe holding onto abstract things.
  • He was retentive of old grievances, never able to truly forgive.

Variants and Related Words

• Retention (n): The act of retaining or the state of being retained.
  • The retention of key staff is vital for the company.
• Retentiveness (n): The quality or state of being retentive.
  • The retentiveness of his memory amazed his teachers.

Synonyms

• Tenacious: Tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely. (e.g., a memory).
• Absorbent: Able to soak up liquid easily. (For the physical sense).
• Memorious: Having a good memory. (A more literary synonym).

Antonyms

• Forgetful: Apt or likely not to remember.
• Porous: Full of pores; allowing liquid or air to pass through easily (opposite of physically retentive).
• Permeable: Allowing liquids or gases to pass through.

Related Phrases

• Retentive memory: This is a common collocation emphasizing the ability to remember.
  • His retentive memory allowed him to recite poems from his childhood.
• Retentive capacity: Often used in technical or scientific contexts to describe how much something can hold.
  • The study measured the soil's retentive capacity for nutrients.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. having the power, capacity, or quality of retaining water
   • soils retentive of moisture
2. having the capacity to retain something
3. good at remembering
   • a retentive mind
   • tenacious memory

Từ đồng nghĩa

• recollective
• long
• tenacious