Synonyms of detaining

detaining

verb

present participle of detain

1

as in arresting

to take or keep (someone) in confinement by authority of law

Police detained the suspect.

Related Words

• arresting
• apprehending
• seizing
• restraining
• jailing
• imprisoning
• incarcerating
• confining
• restricting
• limiting
• pinching
• nicking
• committing
• shutting
• capturing
• holding
• nabbing
• constraining
• nailing
• running in
• grabbing
• pulling in
• collaring
• locking (up)
• snatching
• busting
• interning
• trapping
• barring
• picking up
• handcuffing
• gating
• jugging
• snaring
• catching
• bagging
• grappling
• hooking
• immuring
• snapping (up)
• binding
• landing
• shackling
• remanding
• fettering
• getting
• enchaining
• trammelling
• manacling
• trammeling
• rearresting

Dissimilar Words

• releasing
• freeing
• springing
• loosening
• emancipating
• liberating
• loosing
• discharging
• unchaining
• unbinding

2

as in delaying

to keep (someone or something) from proceeding or progressing

She sent word that she had been unavoidably detained.

The plane was detained for hours due to inclement weather.

Related Words

• delaying
• slowing
• blocking
• hindering
• retarding
• keeping
• impeding
• obstructing
• suspending
• blockading
• snagging
• stalling
• stemming
• extending
• halting
• pausing
• hesitating
• holding
• prolonging
• balking
• lengthening
• clogging
• deferring
• baffling
• holding back
• holding up
• setting back
• damming
• stretching (out)
• arresting
• terminating
• repressing
• protracting
• remitting
• holding over
• bottlenecking
• shelving
• concluding
• ending
• discontinuing
• cutting off
• holding off (on)
• stopping
• suppressing
• putting off
• checking
• staying
• squashing
• stunting
• putting over
• turning back
• laying over
• squelching
• stilling
• calling
• catching
• reining (in)
• staunching
• pulling up
• stanching
• bringing up
• drawing up
• choking off
• fetching up

Dissimilar Words

• continuing
• persisting
• keeping (on)
• carrying on
• proceeding
• moving
• advancing
• keeping up
• running on
• marching
• progressing
• pushing
• stirring
• driving
• going along
• actuating
• following through (with)
• propelling
• spurring
• faring
• impelling
• wending
• goading
• budging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of detaining

The lawsuit accuses Webster of violating her federal constitutional rights through use of excessive force, cruel and unusual punishment and deprivation of due process by unlawfully detaining and sodomizing her. —Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025

The incident came after the aide saw federal agents detaining migrants outside a courtroom in the same building as Nadler's office. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025

Ohio law does not directly address the issue of detaining people with immigration violations, but state law does not prohibit that detention, either, Yost wrote. —Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 30 Aug. 2025

Videos recorded by Diaz and posted to social media appeared to show Border Patrol agents detaining two crew members. —Janhvi Bhojwani, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2025

In February, federal immigration agents raided her family's east Charlotte home, detaining her, her mother, and her brother, according to WFAE. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025

The recruitment event, held at Esports Stadium, came at a time when ICE is ramping up deportations across the country, with agents detaining immigrants in courtrooms, at work and during traffic stops. —Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Aug. 2025

The administration is deporting and detaining undocumented immigrants, sometimes without due process, and deploying the National Guard in city streets. —Norbert Michel, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025

Despite detaining hundreds of people in Michigan accused of being in the country illegally, federal authorities have yet to indict a business owner accused of hiring such workers. —Dave Boucher, Freep.com, 25 Aug. 2025