How to Use detainee in a Sentence

detainee

noun
  • The detainees should never have been there in the first place.
    — Nabih Bulos, latimes.com, 3 July 2019
  • The detainee whose wrist was broken is not one of her clients.
    — Mike Schneider, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
  • The detainee whose wrist was broken is not one of her clients.
    — Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
  • When one detainee approached a guard, he was punched in the face.
    — Mike Schneider, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
  • The detainees, mostly male, come from all over the world.
    — ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Five detainees who died in state custody.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
  • All detainees receive full due process.
    — Aki Nace, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
  • One detainee kicks the bars in a futile attempt to force the door open.
    — Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Later, he was made to strip in front of other detainees.
    — Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 Sep. 2025
  • The fifth detainee had been on house arrest before the deal went down.
    — Barnini Chakraborty, Washington Examiner, 11 Sep. 2023
  • Some detainees say they have been left pleading for more food and water.
    — Isabelle Chapman, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
  • At least one of the detainees who died is presumed to have died by suicide.
    — Laura Romero, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Inside the building, more than a dozen detainees did the same.
    — Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
  • But watching detainees board a flight like this -- is something new for him.
    — Reg Chapman, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
  • But somehow Eleven isn't among the detainees.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
  • Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon.
    — Dallas Morning News, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Angela told him her husband was a detainee.
    — Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
  • The third detainee is still in the hospital.
    — Brooke Taylor, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2025
  • But there’s a video of these detainees running out of the jail in the middle of the night.
    — Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Though federal agents' faces are blurred, the detainees' faces are not.
    — Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025
  • As many as 10,000 detainees could be held there.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 18 Mar. 2026
  • The detainee’s spouse was afraid to come in, fearful that they would be detained as well.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Jan. 2026
  • Ben-Gvir waves a large Israeli flag and tells the detainees.
    — Nick Duffy, NBC news, 20 May 2026
  • The report alleged that a detainee died and there was a mumps outbreak.
    — Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 7 June 2020
  • Some of the detainees crawl on the floor to take cover inside the building.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Sep. 2025
  • One detainee was killed in the shooting and two others were injured.
    — Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Sep. 2025
  • The detainee who filed the case decided to drop it and self-deport.
    — Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
  • And all these testimonies are coming out about the abuse of detainees.
    — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2024
  • Sauer said the government had agreed not to remove detainees who had filed those claims.
    — Elvia Limon, The Hill, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The photos showed the bodies of detainees with signs of torture.
    — Kareem Chehayeb and Ghaith Al-Sayed, BostonGlobe.com, 30 June 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'detainee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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