Retentive

//ɹɪˈtɛntɪv// adj, noun, slang

adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    That which retains or confines; a restraint. obsolete
Adjective
  1. 1
    Having power to retain.

    "a retentive memory"

  2. 2
    Anal-retentive. apocopic, slang
Adjective
  1. 1
    having the power, capacity, or quality of retaining water wordnet
  2. 2
    good at remembering wordnet
  3. 3
    having the capacity to retain something wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
clingingelephantlikeevocativegraspinggrippingholding

Example

More examples

"With deliberate malice I loaded a prolix narrative with every triviality that a fairly retentive memory could rake out of the half-forgotten past."

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French rétentif, from Old French retentif, from Medieval Latin retentivus, from Latin retentus.

Related phrases

anal retentiveanal-retentiveanal retentive

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.