Retain

//ɹɪˈteɪn//

Synonyms for "retain" (123 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (25)

keep absorb balance ballast bear in mind bespeak book bottle up brief brood over cherish cite cling commission conserve contain cork cork up counterbalance detain

Show 4 more words

dwell on dwell upon employ engage

Verb(1 words)

continue

Strong matches (37)

Related words (61)

Related word relations

OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.

7 relation types

More general

11 entries

bear carry contain hold hold on keep keep up prolong remember sustain think of

Synonyms

1 entries

keep

Related terms

17 entries

abstain contain maintain obtain retainder retainment retent retentate retention retentional retentionist retentive retentively retentiveness retentivity retinue

Showing 16 of 17 words.

derived

11 entries

immunoretained retain and explain retainability retainable retainage retainal retained retainer retainership retaining unretained

manner of

4 entries

hold keep prolong remember

related to

13 entries

belong employ hold keep pay pertain possession prevent restrain retainer secure service use

similar

2 entries

continue persist in

Translations

79 translations across 26 languages.

Ancient Greek

1 entries

διασῴζομαι verb (to hold (something) secure; to prevent (something) from becoming detached or separated)

Arabic

4 entries

أَبْقَى verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
أَدَامَ verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
اِحْتَفَظَ verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
بَقَّى verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Bulgarian

4 entries

ангажирам verb (to keep (someone) in one’s pay or service; (chiefly historical) to maintain (someone) as a dependent or follower)
въздържам се verb (to control or restrain (oneself); to exercise self-control over (oneself))
държа verb (to keep in control or possession; to continue having)
задържам verb (to hold back (tissue or a substance, especially urine) in the body or a body organ)

Chinese Mandarin

2 entries

留班 verb (To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year)
留級 /留级 verb (To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year)

Czech

2 entries

ponechat si verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
uchovat si verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Dutch

1 entries

behouden verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Esperanto

1 entries

reteni verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Finnish

4 entries

hillitä verb (to control or restrain (oneself); to exercise self-control over (oneself))
jättää luokalle verb (To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year)
kestää verb (to hold back (tissue or a substance, especially urine) in the body or a body organ)
muistaa verb (to have the ability to keep something in the mind)

French

3 entries

conserver verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
maintenir verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
retenir verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Georgian

2 entries

ინარჩუნებს verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
ინახავს verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

German

3 entries

behalten verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
festhalten verb (to hold (something) secure; to prevent (something) from becoming detached or separated)
sitzen bleiben verb (To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year)

Gothic

1 entries

𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Hungarian

1 entries

megtart verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Irish

1 entries

coinnigh verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Italian

2 entries

conservare verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
mantenere verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Latin

2 entries

habeo verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
teneo verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Macedonian

2 entries

за́држи verb (To hold back (a pupil) instead of allowing them to advance to the next class or year)
на́јми verb (to employ (someone, especially a lawyer) by paying a retainer; to engage (a barrister) by making an initial payment to secure their services if needed)

Māori

2 entries

whakapupuri verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
whakauenuku verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Norwegian

2 entries

få verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
motta verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Old English

1 entries

æthabban verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Portuguese

1 entries

reter verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Romanian

1 entries

reține verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Russian

4 entries

нанима́ть verb (to employ (someone, especially a lawyer) by paying a retainer; to engage (a barrister) by making an initial payment to secure their services if needed)
оста́вить verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
оставля́ть verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
сохрани́ть verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Spanish

3 entries

detentar (illegitimately) verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
retener verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
retener verb (to keep (someone) in custody; to prevent (someone) from leaving)

Swedish

2 entries

bevara verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
få verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Turkish

4 entries

alıkoymak verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
elinden kaçırmamak verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
kaybetmemek verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))
tutmak verb (to keep (something) in control or possession; to continue having (something))

Sample sentences

52 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

If you use a computer, you can retain information.

Source: tatoeba (54538)

These dishes don't retain heat very well.

Source: tatoeba (59191)

I'd retain that old hat if I were you.

Source: tatoeba (246410)

He sacrificed his outstanding career to retain his dignity.

Source: tatoeba (298806)

Showing 4 of 52 available sentences.

More for "retain"

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