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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Dissimilar Words

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 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 According to witnesses of the raid, local police and Canyon County sheriff’s deputies assisted ICE agents by zip-tying children and detaining people without asking about their immigration status. — Rachel Spacek, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026 Other images and videos show immigration agents forcefully detaining men on the street. — Tony Aiello, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 The young fan confronted the officers, who hit him with batons before detaining him. — ABC News, 27 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 Collins lifted his shirt, and investigators removed a handgun from his waistband before detaining him. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2026 That’s when four cars suddenly stopped at the spot, and six masked and armed federal agents emerged and converged, detaining the men without immediately identifying themselves, according to the initial lawsuit. — Staff and Wire Reports, Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026 Newly obtained bodycam footage shows officers evacuating Child’s family and taking him, his grandson and the boy’s friend to a field showup after detaining a man who matched their description. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detaining
  1. arresting
  2. delaying
  3. apprehending
  4. seizing
Verb
  • In Manon Coubia’s visually arresting film Forest High, solo caretakers keep the fires burning in a remote Alpine chalet where weary hikers find modest lodgings.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Schultz drove up as a group of agents was arresting an anti-ICE observer in the middle of the street.
    — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of arresting
Verb
  • Tariffs could also limit technology choices for Americans by delaying new product launches, including devices featuring the latest AI technologies.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
  • In other words, retirees stand to benefit more from annual COLAs by delaying.
    — Lorie Konish, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of delaying
Verb
  • The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation initially contacted Roswell police and asked for assistance locating and apprehending Spruill.
    — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • She’s tasked with apprehending The Puppet Master (Iemasa Kayumi), a hacker who appears to be tapping directly into these networked minds and altering memories.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of apprehending
Verb
  • Their demands for records mirror a New Mexico lawsuit and whistleblower claims that agents were ordered to stand down instead of seizing hundreds of thousands of lethal pills.
    — Joshua Goodman, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Since seizing power, Tiani’s government has shifted away from Western partners, deepened ties with Russia and broken with the regional ECOWAS bloc, joining Mali and Burkina Faso to form the breakaway AES bloc.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of seizing

Browse Nearby Words

detainers
detaining
detainment
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Cite this Entry

“Detaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detaining. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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