retention

/riˈtɛnʃɪn/

/rɛˈtɛnʃən/

Other forms: retentions

You can use retention to mean the ability to keep or hold. If you have extraordinary powers of retention, you remember everything you hear or learn.

Are your ankles ever swollen after a long flight? This comes from the lack of movement which can cause the retention of water. The roots of the word, Latin re- "back" and tenere "to hold," say it all. You often use the word in the military or business contexts to talk about keeping soldiers, or employees, from leaving. If you're lucky, they might offer you a retention bonus to prevent you from quitting.

Definitions of retention

1. noun

   the act of retaining something
   synonyms: holding, keeping

   types:

   withholding

   the act of holding back or keeping within your possession or control

   storage

   the act of storing something

   filing

   preservation and methodical arrangement as of documents and papers etc.

   type of:

   ownership, possession

   the act of having and controlling property
2. noun

   the power of retaining liquid
   synonyms: retentiveness, retentivity

   types:

   urinary retention

   holding urine in the urinary bladder

   type of:

   impermeability, impermeableness

   the property of something that cannot be pervaded by a liquid
3. noun

   the power of retaining and recalling past experience
   synonyms: memory, retentiveness, retentivity

   types:

   anamnesis, recollection, remembrance

   the ability to recall past occurrences

   type of:

   faculty, mental faculty, module

   one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind