retained

[ ri-teynd ]

adjective

1. not lost, destroyed, released, sold, or given away; kept:

   The vendor overvalued both the sold 1,790 acres and the retained 566 acres of Green Meadows.

2. kept in use or practice; continued or preserved:

   We are proud of the retained traditions of entrepreneurship of our ancestors, their respectful and careful attitude to land and craft.

3. (of something perceived or learned) remembered or kept in mind:

   They get taught it in basic training, but without constant practice, land navigation is not a retained skill for the average soldier.

4. engaged for service, often by payment of a preliminary fee:

   To apply for this opportunity in confidence, send your resume and remuneration details to the retained consultants, Kirk & Paulson Consulting Ltd., for an initial interview.

5. kept in check or held in place; held back:

   On completion of the dam, the retained water was diverted for irrigation via two canals.

6. Medicine/Medical. kept in the body, especially abnormally; not expelled or eliminated:

   Three weeks after delivery I was back in the hospital, seriously ill and having a D&C to remove a retained placenta.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of retain.

Other Words From

• un·re·tained adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of retained¹

retain ( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

They’ll cook evenly in one pan, and can get crispy over high heat, though they’ll lose the varied texture they retain when cooked in larger pieces.

From Washington Post

Throughout the company’s history, he retains a sense of urgency — every day on the Internet, he insists, is Day One — and a painstaking focus on customer satisfaction.

From Washington Post

They retained possession when running back Carlos Hyde recovered a fumble during the drive.

From Washington Post

He retained his defenders, however, among them New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis.

From Washington Post

“The personal genetic information is not transferred, retrieved, downloaded, or retained by the genetic genealogy users — including law enforcement,” the DOJ said in a news release last year.

From Washington Post

Weeks retained an unparalleled legal team, which included bitter political rivals Hamilton and Burr.

From The Daily Beast

The former apprentice engineer retained a lifelong interest in the way things worked.

From The Daily Beast

And Goldin Solutions is not the lone U.S. firm retained by the RDIF.

From The Daily Beast

Once appointed, supreme court nominees stand for election in order to be retained.

From The Daily Beast

Schwend apparently retained one-third of the profits derived from the sale of the counterfeit money.

From The Daily Beast

But Mrs. Dodd, the present vicar's wife, retained the precious prerogative of choosing the book to be read at the monthly Dorcas.

From Project Gutenberg

The people here retained the same paganism and barbarity, only they were not so dangerous, being conquered by the Muscovites.

From Project Gutenberg

Beginners must be warned against mistaking the edges of cells, or particles which have retained the red stain, for bacilli.

From Project Gutenberg

Then, also, the cours forcee was declared, and the gold carefully retained in the vaults of the bank.

From Project Gutenberg

Formulas prepared by others are perfectly retained, however, if they are thoroughly assimilated.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• maintained
• received
• saved