Synonyms & related words for detention

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of detention — including detainment, custody, incarceration, confinement, jailing, imprisonment. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to detention

Explore words related to detention — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include detaining, imprisonable, incarcerated, detained, jails, prison, reimprison, jailed. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for detention

Common synonyms for detention include detainment, custody, incarceration, confinement, jailing, imprisonment, internment, arrest — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does detention come from?

The word detention breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root ten-, from Latin teneo (“hold”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.