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.

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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.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of detaining Clampdown Over the weekend, Indian security forces reportedly clamped down on protests in the capital city, detaining young people, several opposition party politicians, YouTubers, lawyers and a few journalists. — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026 Following Saturday's protests, authorities launched a sweeping security crackdown in the capital, detaining more than 2,000 protesters, including several opposition lawmakers. — ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026 Journalists also faced restrictions in some areas, with police briefly detaining some of them. — Sheikh Saaliq, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026 Last year, the Republican administration began suddenly terminating the legal status of thousands of international students, detaining and deporting many of them. — Annie Ma, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026 Nearly 500 federal, state and local officers descended on the sprawling plant, detaining 475 workers, mostly South Koreans. — Hanna Park, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026 One day, her teen-age daughter, on the way to choir practice, witnessed ICE detaining someone outside her bus; Bre sent her children to stay with relatives in the suburbs. — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 Other images and videos show immigration agents forcefully detaining men on the street. — Tony Aiello, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 The court ruled that assigning an egregiously high bail, despite a defendant’s income declaration, was just a way of detaining them. — Evelyn Ronan, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detaining
  1. arresting
  2. delaying
  3. apprehending
  4. seizing
Verb
  • After arresting the men, deputies found two 1,200-gallon fuel tanks and pumping equipment inside their van.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Riot police have used tear gas and charged at protesters in numerous incidents, injuring hundreds and arresting thousands.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of arresting
Verb
  • The daughter, Shannon Amos, faults her brother, Kelly Christopher Amos, for delaying medical care while isolating the actor from his family and friends in the years leading up to his death.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • More and more parents are delaying vaccines and citing logistics, outsourcing the decision to the parent who isn’t in the room or simply wanting more time.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of delaying
Verb
  • The film cuts between Murray cautiously opening the suspicious package and FBI agents apprehending Kaczynski decades later.
    — Jane LaCroix, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2026
  • One deputy suffered minor injuries while apprehending Cody Frank, while another was treated for possible fentanyl exposure after taking one of the suspects to jail, authorities said.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of apprehending
Verb
  • Frieze Week in London has stopped being just about Frieze London and Frieze Masters as smaller fairs are seizing the opportunity for more intimate fair models.
    — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Not to say that Vara is working in bad faith, but there is an ugly history of bad actors seizing on these kinds of accusations against writers of color.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of seizing

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Cite this Entry

“Detaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detaining. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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