RETAINER Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

retainer

noun

ri-ˈtā-nər

Definition of retainer

as in servant

a person hired to perform household or personal services knights being dressed for battle by their retainers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in employee

one who works for another for wages or a salary lifelong civil service retainers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 retainer Not everyone can afford a law firm’s pricey retainer or hourly rate when a legal issue comes up. — Jasmin Suknanan, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026 Under the agreement, Drake Ventures will receive a $65,000 monthly retainer, payable in quarterly installments of $195,000, amounting to $780,000 a year. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026 If an owner decides to sell, Baton runs the process for a monthly retainer and a success fee. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026 Mark Lewis, Founder of Netalico, an e-commerce agency specializing in migrations, CRO, and retainers for mid-market and enterprise brands. — Mark Lewis, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for retainer

Recent Examples of Synonyms for retainer

Noun

Banks paid millions of dollars by today’s standards to bring along a botanist, artists, servants, his greyhound and scientific equipment.

— Saar Shahar, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026
The remains of these servants, or retainers, were first excavated from the funerary complexes at Abydos, eastern Egypt, which date from around 3000 BC, in the 1920s.

— Jack Guy, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of servant

Noun

Such a promise needs to be written down, with a way for employees to challenge a broken commitment.

— Christoph Trattner, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
In an interview with Inside Edition on Tuesday, store owner Adam Rubin said that his store has been review-bombed since Clarkson took to social media and named the store, and employees and surrounding businesses have been harassed.

— Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of employee

Noun

Adelaide said, with a vehemence that frightened Masha, the maid trying to spoon medicine into her clenched mouth.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026
This is the kind of show where an opulent tea party is dramatized not just by many different plates of fancy pastries, fancy wreaths and lots of furniture, but by having all that stuff carted in by a dozen or so butlers, maids and other servants.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of maid

Noun

The program could also be targeted rather than universal — triggered by sector-specific unemployment spikes, income level, or geography, so the money flows first to the workers AI disrupts most.

— Sarah Cannon, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
At least six families said health workers visited only after a child had died from measles in their community.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of worker

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retained

retainer

retainers

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Style

“Retainer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retainer. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of retainer

noun

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