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 Neighbors came out and crowded around, arguing with ICE agents, who were detaining a woman. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026 This is evident in its determination to contain the protests, deploying over 40,000 security personnel, closing down metro and train stations, barricading central Delhi, suspending mobile Internet, and detaining over 7,000 people. — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026 Flores is accused of participating in decisions to torture prisoners and helping oversee a network of officials responsible for detaining and interrogating people perceived as threats to the government. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detaining
  1. arresting
  2. delaying
  3. apprehending
  4. seizing
Verb
  • Osceola Sheriff Chris Blackmon released a statement on Facebook on Wednesday after arresting all nine students.
    — Garfield Hylton, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • For starters, the Stanford experiment prisoners had no idea the study would kick off with local police realistically arresting them at their homes.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of arresting
Verb
  • The significance of the phase 3 data extends beyond delaying a recurrence, doctors said.
    — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
  • According to the county staff report, delaying repairs for a formal bidding process could increase the risk of additional sinkholes, ground collapse and property damage.
    — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of delaying
Verb
  • Only instead of just peacefully apprehending opponents, Doncic’s super-competitive alter ego wants to smash them all under an array of increasingly rude step-back jumpers.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The film cuts between Murray cautiously opening the suspicious package and FBI agents apprehending Kaczynski decades later.
    — Jane LaCroix, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of apprehending
Verb
  • Banks in New York are seizing the opportunity to offer a solution that could shield Chinese customers from their country's tax man.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Even rarer is a series seizing on the opportunity to make a quantum leap several years into its run.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of seizing

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detaining
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Cite this Entry

“Detaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detaining. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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