Synonyms for
Detained
Definition
to keep someone in official custody, typically for questioning about a crime or in a political context
Synonyms & similar words
Synonyms by register
Formal
Literary
Antonyms
Common collocations
- detained by police
- detained for questioning
- detained indefinitely
- detained at the border
- detained without trial
- detained in custody
Word family
Usage note
Often used in legal or official contexts to describe someone being held by authorities. It implies a temporary but official restraint.
Example sentences
- The police detained the suspect for questioning.
- The immigration officers detained the undocumented immigrants.
- The government detained the political dissidents without trial.
- The school principal detained the student for breaking the rules.
- The airport security detained the passenger for carrying a prohibited item.
Quotes
We are detaining a huge number of people, and we don't know what to do with them.
Mental agitation and eating cares are more injurious to health, and destructive of life, than is commonly imagined, and could their effects be collected, would make no inconsiderable figure in the bills of mortality.
Detain not the humblest petitioner; for he is a petitioner, a fellow mortal, and a brother.