English Meaning & Definitions
The action of detaining someone or the state of being detained in official custody, typically as a prisoner.
- “Two suspects were held in police detention for questioning.”
- “The arbitrary detention of political dissidents violates international law.”
A form of punishment in which a student is required to stay at school after normal hours.
- “He received a two-hour detention for disrupting the class.”
- “She spent her afternoon in detention writing lines.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “detention”.
Late Middle English: from Latin detentio(n-), from detinere 'hold back, detain' (from de- 'away, off' + tenere 'to hold').
Think of 'detain' plus 'mention'—when you are detained, someone mentions why you have to stay behind.
Frequently Asked Questions About “detention”
1. What is the meaning of “detention” in English?
In English, detention (noun) is defined as: “The action of detaining someone or the state of being detained in official custody, typically as a prisoner.”.
2. How do you use “detention” in a sentence?
“Two suspects were held in police detention for questioning.”
3. What are English synonyms of “detention”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “detention”?
Late Middle English: from Latin detentio(n-), from detinere 'hold back, detain' (from de- 'away, off' + tenere 'to hold').
🇬🇧More English Words to English
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A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.