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Retention vs Detention - What's the difference?

retention | detention |

As nouns the difference between retention and detention

is that retention is the act of retaining or something retained while detention is (uncountable) the act of detaining or the state of being detained.

retention

Noun

(en noun)
  • The act of retaining or something retained
  • * 1599 , , II. iv. 95:
  • No woman's heart / So big, to hold so much; they lack retention .
  • The act or power of remembering things
  • A memory; what is retained in the mind
  • (medicine) The involuntary withholding of urine and faeces
  • (obsolete) That which contains something, as a tablet; a means of preserving impressions.
  • (Shakespeare)
  • (obsolete) The act of withholding; restraint; reserve.
  • * 1599 , , V. i. 79:
  • His life I gave him, and did thereto add / My love without retention or restraint,
  • (obsolete) A place of custody or confinement.
  • (legal) The right to withhold a debt, or of retaining property until a debt due to the person claiming the right is duly paid; a lien.
  • (Erskine)
    (Craig)

    Anagrams

    *

    detention

    English

    Noun

    (wikipedia detention)
  • (uncountable) The act of detaining or the state of being detained.
  • (countable) A temporary state of custody or confinement, especially of a prisoner awaiting trial, or of a student being punished.
  • Derived terms

    * detention basin * detention home