Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of detain

5 similar words

Another word for detain is delay. Other synonyms of detain are impede.

Synonyms and similar words for detain

verbTo keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay.

verbTo keep someone from proceeding by holding them back or making claims on their attention.

Meaning of detain

  1. verb To keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay.
  2. verb To keep someone from proceeding by holding them back or making claims on their attention.
  3. verb To keep back or from; to withhold.

Full definition of detain

detain in other languages

Questions about synonyms of detain

What is another word for detain?
Detain has 5 synonyms on Word.ws, such as delay and impede.
What does detain mean?
Detain means to keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: detain (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of detain.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/detain. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.