3 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

retained

adjective: continued in your keeping or use or memory; "in...the retained pattern of dancers and guests remembered" [syn: {maintained}]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Retain \Re*tain"\ (r[-e]*t[=a]n"), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Retained} (r[-e]*t[=a]nd"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Retaining}.] [F. retainir, L. retinere; pref. re- re- + tenere to hold, keep. See {Tenable}, and cf. {Rein} of a bridle, {Retention}, {Retinue}.]

1. To continue to hold; to keep in possession; not to lose, part with, or dismiss; to restrain from departure, escape, or the like. ''Thy shape invisible retain.'' --Shak.

Be obedient, and retain Unalterably firm his love entire. --Milton.

An executor may retain a debt due to him from the testator. --Blackstone.

2. To keep in pay; to employ by a preliminary fee paid; to hire; to engage; as, to retain a counselor.

A Benedictine convent has now retained the most learned father of their order to write in its defense. --Addison.

3. To restrain; to prevent. [Obs.] --Sir W. Temple.

{Retaining wall} (Arch. & Engin.), a wall built to keep any movable backing, or a bank of sand or earth, in its place; -- called also {retain wall}.

Syn: To keep; hold; restrain. See {Keep}.

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

23 Moby Thesaurus words for "retained": alive, conserved, eidetic, enduring, fresh, green, held, held back, held in reserve, kept, kept in remembrance, lasting, preserved, put by, recalled, recollected, remembered, reserved, saved, spare, unforgotten, vivid, withheld

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