1
as in imprisonment
the state of being held in lawful custody
he's been in detention since the arrest
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in delay
an instance or period of being prevented from going about one's business
the detention at the airport security checkpoint was brief, but because he was running late, it caused him to miss his flight
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of detention
The suit maintains that there is no legitimate reason to do that because the government has ample detention capacity inside the United States, and because holding migrants in the U.S. is more financially and operationally practical.
—
Sacha Pfeiffer, NPR, 1 Mar. 2025
Funding for border security measures, including additional detention beds and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, would increase by $175 billion.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
One reason for the extended pre-trial detention, Powell’s lawyer Bernard Alan Seidler said, was that Powell insisted on changing his lawyers at least four times.
—Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2025
News of Byers’ detention comes as Marc Fogel, a U.S. citizen who was detained on drug charges in Russia four years ago, was released on Tuesday in exchange for Russian prisoner Alexander Vinnik, who had been detained by the U.S. government on cryptocurrency fraud charges.
—Greg Norman, Fox News, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detention
Sacha Pfeiffer, NPR, 1 Mar. 2025
Funding for border security measures, including additional detention beds and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, would increase by $175 billion.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025
One reason for the extended pre-trial detention, Powell’s lawyer Bernard Alan Seidler said, was that Powell insisted on changing his lawyers at least four times.
—Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2025
News of Byers’ detention comes as Marc Fogel, a U.S. citizen who was detained on drug charges in Russia four years ago, was released on Tuesday in exchange for Russian prisoner Alexander Vinnik, who had been detained by the U.S. government on cryptocurrency fraud charges.
—Greg Norman, Fox News, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detention
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detention
Noun
-
Although drivers are fully routed around the K Street blocks of the market, drivers are still allowed to proceed east through the intersection of J and 20th streets, where the volume of pedestrians using the crosswalks on J leads to delays for those in cars.—
Ariane Lange,
Sacramento Bee,
2 Mar. 2025
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The loss of institutional knowledge and potential disruption to services such as delays in veterans’ benefits or Social Security processing could undermine public trust in government efficiency.—
Jack Kelly,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
In many cases, being in the country without authorization is a civil offense and would typically be punishable by removal instead of incarceration.—
Armando Garcia,
ABC News,
26 Feb. 2025
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This is particularly true of Black people with disabilities, as they are disproportionately pushed out of school, disciplined more harshly, targeted for incarceration and marginalized in disability representation and research.—
Lauren Shallish,
The Conversation,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Medical wait times were not factored into my limited window.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
5 Mar. 2025
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The new approval process is creating lengthy wait times for agencies to onboard new hires, causing fears that those employees will go unpaid, their work will go undone, and that their personal information might be compromised.—
Quil Lawrence,
NPR,
5 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detention.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detention. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
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