retentive
/ɹɪˈtɛntɪv/
retentive adjective: having power to retain.
Adjective
retentive (comparative more retentive, superlative most retentive)
- Having power to retain.
- a soil that is highly retentive of rainwater
- Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, Can be retentive to the strength of spirit.1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- Anal-retentive.
Noun
retentive (plural retentives)
- That which retains or confines; a restraint.
retentive meaning in Urdu
retentive in Urdu
- حافظ, ضابط
Forms of retentive
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more retentive |
| superlative | most retentive |
| Noun | |
| plural | retentives |
Origin of retentive
Borrowed from Middle French rétentif, from Old French retentif, from Medieval Latin retentivus, from Latin retentus.
Words formed from retentive
Questions about retentive
- What does retentive mean?
- Retentive means having power to retain.
- What is retentive in Urdu?
- Retentive in Urdu is حافظ, ضابط. See Retentive meaning in Urdu.
- What part of speech is retentive?
- Retentive can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce retentive?
- Retentive is pronounced /ɹɪˈtɛntɪv/.
Words near retentive in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: retentive (page history and authors); retentive (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-retentive.wav.
Cite this entry: “retentive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retentive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.