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Detain   /dɪtˈeɪn/   Listen
Detain

verb
(past & past part. detained; pres. part. detaining)
1.
Deprive of freedom; take into confinement.  Synonym: confine.
2.
Stop or halt.  Synonyms: delay, stay.
3.
Cause to be slowed down or delayed.  Synonyms: delay, hold up.  "She delayed the work that she didn't want to perform"



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"Detain" Quotes from Famous Books



... storekeeper, and he smiled again. "If my fibre had been a little tougher, this thing would never have happened. There is only one more request I have to make. And that is, to assure Mr. Duncan, from me, that I did not detain ...
— The Crossing • Winston Churchill

... that he would not circulate any news or take any step in advance, on condition that the Rougons should secure him the custom of the college. As she was leaving, Felicite advised him not to compromise himself any further. It would be sufficient for him to detain the letters and distribute them only on ...
— The Fortune of the Rougons • Emile Zola

... Worthington looked in the direction in which Bessie had gone, and at last thought that she could see some one approaching. As the figure drew nearer, she could see that it was her child, and with a glad cry ran to meet her. "O Bessie," cried the mother, "what has happened to detain you? Your father and a company of men are out searching the woods for you. Dear ...
— The value of a praying mother • Isabel C. Byrum

... few moments' conversation. But if a man meets a lady, and wishes to chat with her, he should, after greeting her, ask permission to join her, and walk with her for a short distance; he should by no means detain her standing on the sidewalk. He should not accompany her all the way to her destination, nor prolong such a casual conversation beyond a few moments. He should leave her at a corner, and lift his hat respectfully as ...
— Etiquette • Agnes H. Morton

... gave a forced laugh. He wished the Governor would not detain him with a joke now ...
— Lifted Masks - Stories • Susan Glaspell

... disposing of any bills, that may remain unsold, until it is fully ascertained, that they will be punctually paid. Mr Jay, now at Madrid, where the death of his child, and the consequent distresses of his family, detain him a few days, will undoubtedly transmit more ample intelligence on this subject, with the various papers in his possession necessary to explain it. This Court has been obliged to make considerable ...
— The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. IX • Various

... Zealand Company. Moreover, in this, for the first time in the history of the Colony, the settlers were in accord with the Colonial Office. As early as 1846, Earl Grey had sent out the draft of a constitution the details of which need not detain us, inasmuch as it never came to the birth. Sir George Grey refused to proclaim it, and succeeded in postponing the coming-in of free institutions for six years For many reasons he was probably right, if only because the Maoris still much outnumbered the Whites; yet under Earl Grey's proposed ...
— The Long White Cloud • William Pember Reeves

... and perhaps more irritated by it than the thing deserved, I begged leave to detain the attention of the board for a moment longer. Jelf plucked me ...
— Stories by English Authors: England • Various

... Stephanie arose at length with a feeling that she must go up into the sunshine and face the future. The thought of meeting Pierre even could not ultimately detain her below, though it kept her there considerably longer than usual. After all, was she not bound to meet him? Of what use was it ...
— The Swindler and Other Stories • Ethel M. Dell

... no good being upset about it, Roger reflected; certainly he could not detain the two unless he had a warrant for their arrest. Yet he experienced a feeling of chagrin at being so easily outwitted. The doctor's room, seen in disorder through the open door when they descended the stairs, told a story of ...
— Juggernaut • Alice Campbell

... Tuppence entered the Mansions and ran up to the door of No. 20. How she was to detain Mrs. Vandemeyer until the two men arrived, she did not know, but somehow or other it had to be done, and she must accomplish the task single-handed. What had occasioned this precipitate departure? Did Mrs. Vandemeyer ...
— The Secret Adversary • Agatha Christie

... so befell that, when Anne went into the bed-chamber, she found the beauty there, who, if she chanced to be in the humour, would detain her in her presence for a space and bewitch her over again. In sooth, it seemed that she took a pleasure in showing her female adorer how wondrously full of all fascinations she could be. At such times Anne's plain face would almost bloom with excitement, and her shot ...
— A Lady of Quality • Frances Hodgson Burnett

... the same at every rapid of the river; in all, there is a fall of one hundred and sixty feet. Simple as locks are, I could not help reverting to the wild rapids at Trenton Falls, and reflecting upon how the ingenuity of man had so easily been able to overcome and control Nature! The locks did not detain us long—they never lose time in America. When the boat had entered the lock, and the gate was closed upon her, the water was let off with a rapidity which considerably affected her level, and her bows pointed downwards. I timed one lock with a fall of fifteen feet. From the time ...
— Diary in America, Series One • Frederick Marryat (AKA Captain Marryat)

... commonly supposed, conclusive evidence as to a payment. It is only what the law terms prima facie evidence; that is, good until contradicted or explained. Thus, if A sends wares or merchandise to B, with a receipt, as a hint that the transaction is intended to be for ready money, and B detain the receipt without paying the cash, A will be at liberty to prove the circumstances and to recover his claim. The evidence to rebut the receipt must, however, be clear and indubitable, as, after all, written evidence is of a stronger nature than ...
— The Book of Household Management • Mrs. Isabella Beeton

... Jonathan bowed with such ease as his stiff and awkward joints might command, and thereupon withdrew from the presence of the charmer, who, with cheeks suffused with blushes and with eyes averted, made no endeavor to detain him. ...
— The Ruby of Kishmoor • Howard Pyle

... detain you, sir," said the detective. The policeman squared his shoulders and hitched up his belt. The station official ...
— The Blue Germ • Martin Swayne

... small-arm fire was such that no substantial results were gained by our artillery in the new positions. The batteries were intrenched during the night. Gen. Duffield, with the 33d Michigan, attacked Aguadores, as ordered, but was unable to accomplish more than to detain the ...
— The Gatlings at Santiago • John H. Parker

... him the strength of a giant. He hurled aside those who sought to detain him, and leaped through the crowd and away. The next instant the Kansan dropped out of the tree, swinging for a moment by one of the drooping branches, to break the force of the fall, and alighting on the ground with ease ...
— Frank Merriwell's Reward • Burt L. Standish

... Scripture. I told them we did not pray for Charles Stuart, but for all Christian kings, princes, and governors. They replied, in so doing we prayed for the King of Spain too, who was their enemy and a Papist; with other frivolous and ensnaring questions and much threatening, and, finding no colour to detain me, they dismissed me with much pity of my ignorance. These were men of high flight and above ordinances, and spake spiteful things of our Lord's Nativity. As we went up to receive the sacrament the miscreants held their muskets against ...
— Christmas: Its Origin and Associations - Together with Its Historical Events and Festive Celebrations During Nineteen Centuries • William Francis Dawson

... this state of suspense, information was received that the Royalists, having gained intelligence that she was at Quilca, had determined to seize her and her infant that very evening, and to detain them as hostages. This intelligence arrived just as a large party was assembled in the ball-room, when, with a decision which is one of her chief characteristics, Lady Cochrane ordered a palanquin—presented to her by the Marquis of Torre Tagle—to be got ready ...
— Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil, - from Spanish and Portuguese Domination, Volume 1 • Thomas Cochrane, Tenth Earl of Dundonald

... Hadrianople, then at the neighbouring town of Nice (chosen to cause confusion with Nicaea), where Ursacius and Valens induced them to sign a revision of the dated creed. The few changes made in it need not detain us. ...
— The Arian Controversy • H. M. Gwatkin

... she said, "I am obliged to you. Had this story been told me while Miss Merton, was in the house I should have been obliged to detain her until all the facts of this disgraceful case were laid before the college authorities, and then, of course, there would have been no course open but to publicly expel her. This, at least, you have spared St. Benet's, and I am relieved from the terrible responsibility. I'll say nothing now ...
— A Sweet Girl Graduate • Mrs. L.T. Meade

... Ramiro," I greeted him. Then, seeing that he only stared, and made no shift to speak: "Maybe," quoth I, "you'll explain why you detain ...
— The Shame of Motley • Raphael Sabatini

... forced myself to say good-bye to my poor old landlady. Or rather to say "Good night," as I had to start at one o'clock in the morning so as to have a couple, of hours before sunrise at "The Stones" on my way to Salisbury. Her latest effort to detain me a day longer had been made and there was no more ...
— Afoot in England • W.H. Hudson

... a distant expedition, friend," replied the prelate— "on an honourable embassy, which may detain him ...
— The Talisman • Sir Walter Scott

... could but thank his generous kinsman and patron, and leave him full power to act in all his affairs. He departed from Scotland upon his mission, which, it was supposed, might detain him upon ...
— Bride of Lammermoor • Sir Walter Scott

... to face each other. The situation seemed hopeless. They dared not shout or try to detain the boat. That surely would betray to the Hoffs that they were being followed. Despondently Dean clambered off the motorcycle and crossed to read ...
— The Apartment Next Door • William Andrew Johnston

... more. The destination is Livia's beloved Baden. We rest a night in the city of Mozart, a night at Munich, a night at Stuttgart. Baden will detain my cousin full a week. She has Captain Abrane and Sir Meeson Corby in attendance—her long shadow and her short: both devoted to Lord F., to win her smile, and how he drives them! The captain has been paraded on the promenade, to the stupefaction of the foreigner. Princes, counts, ...
— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith

... fault that will soon be mended. A few days' knocking about, especially as I fancy we are going to have bad weather, will take the shine out of them, and, once off, take good care not to put it on again. A Boer with clean boots would be an anomaly indeed. Now, I will detain you no longer." ...
— With Buller in Natal - A Born Leader • G. A. Henty

... Regiment of Health, Incipe cum Liquido, &c. The Liquids premitted to the Solids. These being so Excellent in their kinde, so beneficial and so well ordered, I think it unhandsome, if not injurious, by the trouble of any further Discourse, to detain thee any longer from falling to; Fall to therefore, and much ...
— The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened • Kenelm Digby

... clearly understood by a perusal of the facts herein contained, from which I will no longer detain in the ...
— Life's Progress Through The Passions - Or, The Adventures of Natura • Eliza Fowler Haywood

... item that stuck in his throat was a little bill his son had left. This son had started a day or two before, and of course the father was responsible for the debt. How he was to pay it he did not know, as he had not a single cash about him. The Chinaman of the place threatened to detain him, and the scribe laughed a bitter laugh at the idea. After a great row ...
— James Gilmour of Mongolia - His diaries, letters, and reports • James Gilmour

... undecided whether it would be better for me to "go away," or remain longer at the asylum, but I plead to go, as if my life depended upon it. After consultation with the authorities at the hospital, who were clearly of the opinion that they had no right to detain me under the circumstances, and who, therefore, felt it incumbent upon them to discharge me, particularly if my friends were willing, it was by all parties decided that I should go. I felt glad in my heart that the institution was relieved of all responsibility in my case, for I did not ...
— Fifteen Years in Hell • Luther Benson

... acquainted her with the adventure of the damsel whom I had seen at the window and how 1 had fallen in love with her; whereupon quoth she, 'An that girl belong to me, whatso I possess is thine, and if she belong to my sire, I will demand her of him and detain her from him and deliver her to thee.' Then she fell to summoning hand-maid after hand-maid and showing them to me, till I saw the damsel whom I loved and said, 'This is she.' Quoth my wife, 'Let ...
— Supplemental Nights, Volume 1 • Richard F. Burton

... coast, and after completing its examination, to proceed northward, and enter the Gulf with the north-west monsoon; but it appeared to me very probable, that the western winds on the south coast would detain him too long to admit of reaching the Gulf of Carpentaria at the time specified, or at any time before the south-east monsoon would set in ...
— A Voyage to Terra Australis • Matthew Flinders

... inspected the ransom, which consisted of the following articles: two bales of superfine scarlet cloth; two chests of opium; two casks of gunpowder; and a telescope; the rest in dollars. He objected to the telescope not being new; and said he should detain one of us 'till another was sent, or a hundred dollars in lieu of it. The Compradore however agreed with him for the ...
— Great Pirate Stories • Various

... wrote to William—at occasional intervals—but she did not come home. Even when the next autumn came, there was still Paris to detain her for another long ...
— Miss Billy • Eleanor H. Porter

... regained strength, and Samson now made me get up and walk about to try it. Unwilling longer to detain him, I at last declared that it was quite well, making light of the pain I still felt when I walked, and begged to accompany him the next time he went out. He consented. "But you must not go without a weapon; and you can use it well, I know," he observed, as he drew a rifle from ...
— Afar in the Forest • W.H.G. Kingston

... looked at one another, and we stared at the dark pall that was sweeping in, raw and chilly. Of course we at once knew its significance. It must surely detain the ...
— Sweetapple Cove • George van Schaick

... back to the barracks in the evening, that I might wish the kind doctor and my other friends there good-bye. We accordingly returned as he proposed. It was a difficult matter to get Larry away from his late companions, who seemed inclined to detain him vi et armis, the men grasping his hands, and the black girls hanging round him, many of them blubbering outright at the thoughts of parting from the "lubly Irish boy dat play de fiddle,"—as for pronouncing his name, that they ...
— Paddy Finn • W. H. G. Kingston

... brilliant and popular Italian refugee was the centre—to excite an insurrection in Italy. "The British Government," reported the House of Commons Committee of Inquiry afterwards appointed, "issued a warrant to open and detain M. Mazzini's letters. Such information deduced from these letters as appeared to the British Government calculated to frustrate this attempt was communicated to a ...
— The History of "Punch" • M. H. Spielmann

... rest-house, the governor's palace, a mosque or two, and the convenient bath-houses for Mahommedans being barred, there is nothing particular to detain the traveller ...
— Across Coveted Lands - or a Journey from Flushing (Holland) to Calcutta Overland • Arnold Henry Savage Landor

... go," said Frank. "I wouldn't make a charge against him, for it would detain me, and we must get away in the morning, wind and ...
— Frank Merriwell's Cruise • Burt L. Standish

... by the shoulder when he reached the door and attempted to detain him; but Tom was in such a fury that nothing could check him. He shook off his father, and advanced towards me, apparently with the intention of making an end of me. I raised the heavy bat, and looked him steadfastly in the eye. I ...
— Seek and Find - or The Adventures of a Smart Boy • Oliver Optic

... straggled across the wide, dimly shining, deeply shaded hall, Sylvia felt her arm seized and held, and turning her head, looked into the laughing face of Arnold. "What kind of flowers does Judy like the best?" he inquired, the question evidently the merest pretext to detain her, for as the others moved out of earshot he said in a delighted whisper, his eyes gleaming in the dusk with amused malice: "Go it, Sylvia! Hit 'em out! It's worth enduring oceans of Greek history to see old Sommerville squirm. Molly gone—Morrison as poor as a church mouse; and now Page ...
— The Bent Twig • Dorothy Canfield

... devolution which assumes so much importance in some fashionable Anglican teaching about the Church need not detain us long. The logical choice must ultimately be between the great international Catholic Church and what Auguste Sabatier called the religion of the Spirit. The religion of all Protestants, when it is not secularised, as it too often is, belongs to this latter ...
— Outspoken Essays • William Ralph Inge

... the discussion further, I will detain the Senate only while I recapitulate the opinions which I have expressed; because I am far less desirous of influencing the judgment of others, than of making clear the grounds of ...
— The Great Speeches and Orations of Daniel Webster • Daniel Webster

... book should have both a Preface and an Introduction: the first relating to the writer; the second to the things written. I may well dispense with the latter, for what is here written the humblest capacity can understand; and it would be cruel to detain him long on the porch who is anxious to enter ...
— Autobiography of Frank G. Allen, Minister of the Gospel - and Selections from his Writings • Frank G. Allen

... course nor Delhi's kingly gates, nor wild Malwah detain, For sweet the bliss us both ...
— Henry Esmond; The English Humourists; The Four Georges • William Makepeace Thackeray

... other crossed over. They fell into step each side of a very ordinary young man. "Your name is so-and-so," said one. "We are police-officers, and we should like an explanation of one or two things. It may be necessary to detain you." A cab stopped, the three got into it, and as it drove away there were not two people among the thousands in the street who knew that anything out ...
— Scotland Yard - The methods and organisation of the Metropolitan Police • George Dilnot

... I ought to detain you," she said, breaking the silence which he for his part would have been willing to continue, "but"—she looked up at him with a half-shamed smile—"I have n't the ...
— The Seventh Noon • Frederick Orin Bartlett

... necessary to detain the reader with the details of question and reply, by which the truth was at last elicited on both sides. Suffice it to say that the two ships were found to be merchant-vessels from Iceland, and that, among other colonists, they had brought out several men whose purpose was ...
— The Norsemen in the West • R.M. Ballantyne

... love his grace to her controul, And in these low abodes of sin and pain Her pure, exalted soul, Unjustly, for thy partial good, detain? No—rather strive thy groveling mind to raise Up to that unclouded blaze, That heav'nly radiance of eternal light, In which enthroned she now with pity sees How frail, how insecure, how slight Is ev'ry ...
— Clarissa: Preface, Hints of Prefaces, and Postscript • Samuel Richardson

... "If he detain thee, Gino, thou wilt wait his pleasure; and if he dismiss thee at once, return hither with all expedition, that I may know ...
— The Bravo • J. Fenimore Cooper

... ready to begin the attack. He ordered Decius Brutus Scaeva, a lieutenant-general, with the first legion, ten auxiliary cohorts, and the cavalry, to go and oppose the said detachment; and in whatever place he should meet the foe, there to stop and detain them, and even to engage in battle, should opportunity offer for it; at all events not to suffer those troops to approach Cominium. He then commanded the scaling ladders to be brought up to the walls, on every side of the city; and, under a fence of closed shields, ...
— The History of Rome; Books Nine to Twenty-Six • Titus Livius

... illud ipsum, in quo ille postremum institisset, contueremur. De Orat. lib, iii. s. 1. and 6. This passage will naturally call to mind the death of the great earl of Chatham. He went, in a feeble state of health, to attend a debate of the first importance. Nothing could detain him from the service of his country. The dying notes of the BRITISH SWAN were heard in the House of Peers. He was conveyed to his own house, and on the eleventh of May 1778, he breathed his last. The news reached the House of Commons late in the evening, when Colonel BARRE had the honour ...
— A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, Or The Causes Of Corrupt Eloquence • Cornelius Tacitus

... had left her, La Valliere raised herself from the ground, and extended her arms, as if to follow and detain him; but when, having violently closed the door, the sound of his retreating footsteps could be heard in the distance, she had hardly sufficient strength left to totter toward and fall at the foot of her crucifix. There she remained, ...
— The Vicomte de Bragelonne - Or Ten Years Later being the completion of "The Three - Musketeers" And "Twenty Years After" • Alexandre Dumas

... to the guard-room. He is arrested under the Defence of the Realm Act for attempting to elicit information prejudicial to the welfare of the State. I won't detain the train any longer, guard, although I'll ask you to drop my gear on ...
— The Submarine Hunters - A Story of the Naval Patrol Work in the Great War • Percy F. Westerman

... was so full of this ideal of the man against whom—and also for whom—her heart was hot that she made no effort to detain Claude when, after long silence, he picked up his hat and slipped away ...
— The Side Of The Angels - A Novel • Basil King

... at the disadvantage of holding his hat in his hand, in deference to place, so that he was unable to indicate a deference to persons by lifting it. Yet he took his leave with so good a manner that the Colonel was moved to detain him. As the stranger made his way past him, the elder man remarked: "It must be worth while to be up on architecture in this part of ...
— A Venetian June • Anna Fuller

... is too great happiness!" exclaimed the oak tree; and now he felt that his own roots were loosening themselves from the earth. "This is best of all," he said. "Now no bounds shall detain me. I can soar to the heights of light and glory, and I have all my dear ...
— The Ontario Readers - Third Book • Ontario Ministry of Education

... gentlemen," said the inspector. "Your evidence will of course be required at the inquest, of which you will receive notice. I need not detain you ...
— The Crooked House • Brandon Fleming

... met them and stopped their march. A kind of parley (if intercourse carried on by signs could be so called) was carried on between the parties. The mutineers made signs that they wished to go forward, while the few militiamen endeavoured to detain them, expecting a reinforcement momently. After a time the militia agreed to allow them to approach the town; as they were advancing they were met by the commandant, Martin Sorzano, Esq., with sixteen more militiamen. The commandant ...
— At Last • Charles Kingsley

... not need to detain you any longer, nor to trouble you further in this affair. I thank you for coming to us so promptly. It has been ...
— The Lamp That Went Out • Augusta Groner

... back, and I only to be excepted. It seems that, notwithstanding my imprisonment has continued near nineteen months, the French governor has not received orders from his Government as to the disposal of my person and papers. They have told him he did right to detain and secure me; but their final decision is deferred to their next despatches. These are expected very soon, and then possibly I may be either liberated, or sent to France to be ...
— The Naval Pioneers of Australia • Louis Becke and Walter Jeffery

... as you say." And he made no effort to detain the enraged one who was turning his back and striding away. But after the self-discharged political manager was gone, the traffic man chuckled quietly and turned up a square of paper which had been lying on his desk during the ...
— The Honorable Senator Sage-Brush • Francis Lynde

... such motives as these. Still they sent you twenty louis a volume: that makes a hundred and forty louis that you had beyond what was due to you. You plan a journey to Wesel [in 1752, to meet Frederick of Prussia] at a time when you were wanted by them here; they do not detain you; on the contrary, you are short of money, and they supply you. You accept a couple of hundred louis; this debt you forget for two or three years. At the end of that rather long term you bethink you of paying. What do they do? They hand ...
— Diderot and the Encyclopaedists (Vol 1 of 2) • John Morley

... was having a hard time with the steamer; but she knew he would be satisfied as long as he was doing well. Mr. Sherwood, assured that there was nothing at home to detain the young pilot, left the house. Lawry soon after entered; but he had not time to tell his mother the particulars of his first trip on the Woodville. He could remain but a few moments, while the hands were "coaling up," from a cargo of coal ...
— Haste and Waste • Oliver Optic

... "Napoleon: last Phase," p. 58, write that Lord Liverpool thought that Napoleon should either (1) be handed over to Louis XVIII. to be treated as a rebel; or (2) treated as vermin; or (3) that we would (regretfully) detain him? In his letters to Castlereagh at Paris, Liverpool expressly says it would be better for us, rather than any other Power, to detain him, and writes not a word about treating him as vermin. Lord Rosebery is surely aware that our Government and Wellington ...
— The Life of Napoleon I (Volumes, 1 and 2) • John Holland Rose

... he was glad that I had promised to dine with them on Thursday. The footman came in and announced the carriage at the door, and this was a signal for me to take my leave. Sarah, as she shook hands with me, laughing, asserted that it was not considerate in them to detain me any longer, as I must have lost half-a-dozen good fares already; "So go down to your boat, pull off your jacket, and make up for lost time," continued she; "one of these days mamma and I intend to go on the water, just to patronise you." ...
— Jacob Faithful • Captain Frederick Marryat

... and at the voice Of God, as with a Mantle didst invest 10 The rising world of waters dark and deep, Won from the void and formless infinite. Thee I re-visit now with bolder wing, Escap't the Stygian Pool, though long detain'd In that obscure sojourn, while in my flight Through utter and through middle darkness borne With other notes then to th' Orphean Lyre I sung of Chaos and Eternal Night, Taught by the heav'nly Muse to venture down The dark descent, and up to reascend, 20 Though hard and rare: thee I revisit ...
— The Poetical Works of John Milton • John Milton

... placed with some gentleman in Gower Street, for the convenience of attending the University lectures, or for the sake of preparing for them, he broke through the arrangement at the end of a week; but even an agreeable visit had no power to detain him beyond a ...
— Life and Letters of Robert Browning • Mrs. Sutherland Orr

... peculiarly mild, but which at the same time was felt to be menacing, "I do not mean at the present moment to have any conversation with you on the subject to which it is necessary that I should allude, and as I shall not ask for your presence for above a minute or two, I will not detain you by getting you to sit down. If I can induce you to listen to me without replying to me it will, I think, be better for ...
— Marion Fay • Anthony Trollope

... rather than of theory. In the sale of immovable property the rule was that the value should be arrived at by a consideration of the annual fruits of the property.[1] The only one of the particular contracts which need detain us here is that of a contract of service for wages (locatio operarum). Wages were considered as ruled by the laws relating to just price. 'That is called a wage (merces) which is paid to any one as a recompense for his work and labour. Therefore, ...
— An Essay on Mediaeval Economic Teaching • George O'Brien

... when the group broke up in some confusion, after a few minutes of animated discussion; Mr. Wallace Banks, that busy and executive youth, bearing Miss Pratt triumphantly off to the lemonade-punch-bowl, while William pursued Johnnie Watson and Joe Bullitt. He sought to detain them near the edge of the platform, though they appeared far from anxious to linger in his company; and he was able to arrest their attention only by clutching an arm of each. In fact, the good feeling which had latterly prevailed among these three appeared to be in danger ...
— Seventeen - A Tale Of Youth And Summer Time And The Baxter Family Especially William • Booth Tarkington

... "Fire; don't detain your adversary!" cried Mavriky Nikolaevitch in extreme agitation, seeing that Stavrogin seemed to have forgotten to fire, and was examining the hat with Kirillov. Stavrogin started, looked at Gaganov, ...
— The Possessed - or, The Devils • Fyodor Dostoyevsky

... request.' I fancy the idea of that is to beg the family never to be without Poulter's Pills. Here again: 'Then you'll remember me!' I'm afraid that title is not original; never mind, the song is. And here is—but there are many more, and I won't detain you with them now." He saw, perhaps, I was getting impatient. Thank Heaven, however, he was no escaped lunatic. ...
— The Lock And Key Library - Classic Mystery And Detective Stories, Modern English • Various

... time I have the honor to bring to the knowledge of your excellency that the German authorities will detain French mercantile vessels in German ports, but they will release them if, within forty-eight hours, they ...
— The Story of the Great War, Volume I (of 8) - Introductions; Special Articles; Causes of War; Diplomatic and State Papers • Various

... although in retirement, would give pleasure to the Spanish people. His health was so shattered, that each winter had been long expected to be his last; and although he would not flinch from work as long as he was required at his post, there was nothing to detain Philip any more in England, unless, or until, the succession could be placed on another footing. To continue there the husband of a childless queen, with authority limited to a form, and with no recognised interest beyond the term of his wife's life, was no ...
— The Reign of Mary Tudor • James Anthony Froude

... altitude, with rising peaks, where electric storms play and rage, and the clouds drop, with a sudden sweep, their whole burden of water to the earth beneath. At other times, the waters are allowed to pour down in torrential rains which quickly deluge the land, and as there are no barriers to hinder or detain, they sweep down the inhospitable slopes to the stream beds, carrying with them all the sand, silt, rock debris, vegetable mould and animal matter that have accumulated since the last storm. So that while at its source it is the purest river ...
— The Grand Canyon of Arizona: How to See It, • George Wharton James

... sword, and let us on my bed recline, Mutual embrace, that we may trust henceforth Each other without jealousy or fear.' The goddess spake, to whom I thus replied: 'Oh Circe, canst thou bid me meek become, And gentle, who beneath thy roof detain'st My fellow-voyagers. * * * No, trust me, never will I share thy bed, Till first, oh goddess, thou consent to swear That dread, all-binding oath, that other harm Against myself, thou wilt imagine none.' ...
— Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and • James Emerson Tennent

... All very well done! I have assured the lady there is no fear of contagion, as under my orders everything will be thoroughly disinfected. I shall go now. Oh, by the way, the countess requests that you will wait here a few minutes—she has a message for you—she will not detain you long. I should recommend you to get back to your hotel as soon as you can, and take some good wine. A rivederci! Anything I can do ...
— Vendetta - A Story of One Forgotten • Marie Corelli

... of the lieutenant-governor, sent her merely with a letter, that if unhappily any accident should have happened to him, a proper person might be sent in the Reliance to command the settlement, until a successor could arrive from England. Having nothing to deliver or receive that could detain him, the master determined to try in what time his vessel could ...
— An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Vol. 1 • David Collins

... arranged, and by supper-time Ben found that he had nothing further to detain him in Centerville. He felt that he had done a smart stroke of business. Mrs. Hamilton had been surprised at receiving an offer of five thousand dollars for the farm, yet he had sold ...
— The Store Boy • Horatio Alger, Jr.

... mingled with regret for their absence was a feeling very like self-reproach that she had permitted Christie to go. It was in vain that she reasoned with herself about this matter, saying it was the child's own wish, and that against her aunt's expressed approbation she could have said nothing to detain her. ...
— Christie Redfern's Troubles • Margaret Robertson

... I hear that there are parties of men on every road, and that orders have been given in every township to arrest all passers- by, and to detain them if they have not proper papers with them. Well, I can die better than some, for I lost my wife last Christmas, and have no children; so if you won't do my business for me I will go straight back to Dartford ...
— A March on London • G. A. Henty

... tears which have moved Us exceedingly"; and this old man begs, and His Highness begs, that the Doge and Senate will arrange for the immediate release of the captive. They must have taken many Turkish prisoners in their late victories, and it is understood that those who detain the captive are willing to exchange him for any Turk of equal value. Also his Highness hopes the Doge and Senate will pay at once to the old man whatever may be due to his captive son. This, his Highness believes, had been arranged for ...
— The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660 • David Masson

... rolled inward with a languid movement, and broke with a low murmur of music in long lines of foam against the opposite sands. The surface of the sea was, in every direction, thickly dotted with sails; the air was of a delicious temperature, and altogether it was a scene to detain one for hours." ...
— The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 3 • Various

... ventured on some pleasantry at which she laughed, and on my proposing that we should go for a walk she consented. She had left the commercial traveler, it came out in conversation, and we went on talking and walking, one idea only in my mind now; could I detain her till dark? Dolly, who was very pretty indeed, amused herself with me for hours, playing hot and cold, snubbing me one minute, encouraging me with her eyed another. Hour after hour went and she found this game so ...
— Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 4 (of 6) • Havelock Ellis

... after breakfast, "this is now past a joke; to-day is the last of my stay; for, notwithstanding the ties which detain me, common decency obliges me to visit home after so long an absence. I shall come to an immediate explanation with your father on the subject nearest my heart, and depart while I have a change of dress left. On his answer ...
— Humorous Ghost Stories • Dorothy Scarborough

... during the time of truce, would have called for the most violent remonstrances from any government, except that of Albany. But to this usurper of the supreme power, the capture of the Prince was the most grateful event which could have happened; and to detain him in captivity became, from this moment, one of the principal objects of his future life; we are not to wonder, then, that the conduct of Henry not only drew forth no indignation from the governor, ...
— Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and Other Poems • W.E. Aytoun

... rhodium, and palladium, has nothing to detain us. It will be observed that each bar contains eight segments, instead of the six of cobalt and nickel; that ruthenium and palladium have the same number of atoms in their upper ovoids, although in ruthenium a triplet and quartet represent the ...
— Occult Chemistry - Clairvoyant Observations on the Chemical Elements • Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater

... to detain your letter to make this appeal to your patriotism, not merely from common feelings of personal regard, but from the official opinion which makes me regard you as necessary to the service of the country in your present position."* (* O.R. volume ...
— Stonewall Jackson And The American Civil War • G. F. R. Henderson

... you, M. Quentin. Come inside. I shall detain you but a moment, and it is so very important that you should hear me." She was now sitting upright, visibly excited and confused, but very much ...
— Castle Craneycrow • George Barr McCutcheon

... Palmerston, in 1841, "that there is no shadow of pretence for excusing, much less justifying, the exercise of any such right. That it is wholly immaterial, whether the vessels be equipped for, or actually engaged in slave traffic or not, and consequently the right to search or detain even slave vessels, must be confined to the ships or vessels of those nations with whom it may have treaties on the subject."[54] Palmerston courteously replied that he could not think that the United States seriously intended to make its flag a refuge for ...
— The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America - 1638-1870 • W. E. B. Du Bois

... it has been conveyed, and beg to say that I shall be glad to avail myself of it, and be prepared to proceed to take charge as soon as I am directed to do so, as I have no arrears in any of my offices to detain me, and can make them over to any one at the shortest notice, with the assurance that he will find nothing in them to perplex ...
— A Journey through the Kingdom of Oude, Volumes I & II • William Sleeman

... our business is ended, I think I'll not detain you any longer, Mr. Gordon, except to warn you that it will be foolhardy to return to the Rio Chama Valley with intentions such as ...
— A Daughter of the Dons - A Story of New Mexico Today • William MacLeod Raine

... from my last, I'm gayly off, Yet would you me detain; Cut off my last, and, lo! for ...
— Harper's Young People, March 9, 1880 - An Illustrated Weekly • Various

... note to Nina thanking her for having had him at Silverside, and speaking vaguely of some business matters which might detain him indefinitely—a briefer note to Eileen regretting his inability to return for the present—were all the communication they had from him except news brought by Austin, who came down ...
— The Younger Set • Robert W. Chambers

... Portsmouth; and Captain Berkely is come to towne with a letter from the Duana of Algier to the King, wherein they do demand again the searching of our ships and taking out of strangers, and their goods; and that what English ships are taken without the Duke's pass they will detain (though it be flat contrary to the words of the peace) as prizes, till they do hear from our King, which they advise him may be speedy. And this they did the very next day after they had received with great joy the Grand ...
— Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete • Samuel Pepys

... best thing I have heard of him for years is the very little that you have told me. As a rule, to hear of him at all in this part of the world, is to wish that we had not heard. I see him coming, however, and shall detain you no longer, for I don't deny that there is ...
— Dead Men Tell No Tales • E. W. Hornung

... opening of the shells, dexterously put in its paw, and tear out the contents. Not, however, without danger, for sometimes, we are assured, by a sudden closure, the oyster will catch the thief, and detain him until he is drowned by the return of the tide. The story, I regret to ...
— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Volume 14, No. 379, Saturday, July 4, 1829. • Various

... tried to detain him, but suspecting some discovery he forced his way out, sword in hand, and has gone I do not know in what direction; but he cannot be far—saddle all the horses in my stable and pursue the sacrilegious wretch. I ...
— The Pacha of Many Tales • Captain Frederick Marryat

... the last few hours, probably when the last ebb began. If so, the mysterious craft had spent the whole of Christmas Day in that snug berth; and he blamed himself for permitting his host's festivities to detain him. Then he took a few bearings to mark the spot, and fed the poor crippled ox with all the herbage he could gather, resolving to come with a rope to-morrow, and lead him home, if possible, as a Christmas ...
— Springhaven - A Tale of the Great War • R. D. Blackmore

... those in sight only one wore glasses—a black-haired youth who kept his hands on the shoulders of the man before him. Tom made up his mind that he, in any event, would not detain this fellow on the ground of anything in his appearance, nor any of the others now in sight. He was drawn aside by Mr. Conne, however, and became the object of attention of the other Secret ...
— Tom Slade Motorcycle Dispatch Bearer • Percy Keese Fitzhugh

... away the strap which bound Grace to the wall and was leading her to the door. Her husband's efforts to detain her, weak and uncertain, were easily frustrated by Hartmann. In a few moments the door had swung shut upon the detective, and she was being led up the ...
— The Ivory Snuff Box • Arnold Fredericks

... or put away the suggestion. When I had decided that she did not mean to reply, and was seeking my mind for new speech to detain her with me, she finally ...
— The Thing from the Lake • Eleanor M. Ingram

... of the very words your excellency has addressed me, and I have no doubt that the emperor on reading them will have the same gratification with which I have heard them. Thanks, therefore, your excellency! And now I will not detain you longer from enjoying your dinner. Both of us have returned from Potsdam without dining, and it is but natural that we should make up for it now. ...
— NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER • L. Muhlbach

... Arrete des Jeunes Gens de la Ville d'Angers, du 4 Fevrier 1789. Arrete des Meres, Soeurs, Epouses et Amantes des Jeunes Citoyens d'Angers, du 6 Fevrier 1789. (Reprinted in Histoire Parlementaire, i. 290-3.)) nor suchlike, detain us here. It is the same sad history everywhere; with superficial variations. A reinstated Parlement (as at Besancon), which stands astonished at this Behemoth of a States-General it had itself evoked, starts forward, ...
— The French Revolution • Thomas Carlyle

... lower wages, if they can obtain steady work in another occupation. As it was the fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl who came for the instruction, it was better for her to be well trained as an assistant than to detain her at the school for a more advanced position which she would probably not be allowed to take on account of her youth and inexperience. Students in this department need to be watched with especial care to determine whether they are well adapted for their occupation, and the mediocre worker would ...
— The Making of a Trade School • Mary Schenck Woolman

... ship by a large silver star at the prow. If night should fall before I arrive there, three red lanterns at the end of the mast shall inform you of the friend that is approaching. I have sent home the learned and witty men whom you sent to meet me, in order to detain me, and gain time for the restoration of the old nest in which I had a fancy to roost with Minerva's birds—which have not, I hope, all been driven out of it—in order that Sabina and her following may not lack entertainment, nor the famous gentlemen themselves be unnecessarily disturbed ...
— Uarda • Georg Ebers

... they thought that they should recover by their means the hostages which they had given to Crassus. The neighbouring people, led on by their influence (as the measures of the Gauls are sudden and hasty), detain Trebius and Terrasidius for the same motive; and quickly sending ambassadors, by means of their leading men, they enter into a mutual compact to do nothing except by general consent, and abide the same issue of fortune; and they solicit the other states to choose ...
— "De Bello Gallico" and Other Commentaries • Caius Julius Caesar

... was wet; he made a lumbering excuse to go; which Esther explained to herself by a fear of intrusion, and so set down to the merit side of Dick's account, while she proceeded to detain him. ...
— The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI • Robert Louis Stevenson

... were of the boat to be obtained, and the right or wrong of abstracting it, under the circumstances. But to split no hairs on this point, let me say, that were I placed in the same situation again, I would repeat the thing I did then. The captain well knew that he was going to detain me unlawfully: against our agreement; and it was he himself who threw out the very hint, which I merely adopted, with many thanks ...
— Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. I (of 2) • Herman Melville

... has assured me that he is ready to take you under his protection during the journey," said he. "I will speak to the Prince again to-day, and, as he has no right to detain me, it will be possible for me, as I confidently hope, to ...
— The Coming Conquest of England • August Niemann

... and desired me to get out and go with him to the apartment in the side of the gate. I went and saw a middle-aged man dressed in the same manner, sitting at the table with my passport before him. "I am sorry," said he, "to say that your passport is not regular, and that my duty compels me to detain you." "What is the matter with the passport?" "The vise is of more than three days standing." I exerted all my eloquence to persuade him that an hour was of no consequence, and that the public welfare would not suffer by letting me pass, but he remained ...
— Letters of a Traveller - Notes of Things Seen in Europe and America • William Cullen Bryant

... "I will not detain the caucus longer than to repeat my sincere obligations to you and to express through you my thanks to the people of the State, whose representatives you are, for the signal honor that has ...
— Fifty Years of Public Service • Shelby M. Cullom

... policy to detain us on the island at Sick Dog until the arrival of his daughter, Papa Isbister thought fit to tell us the fate of Rainbow Pete, of whose physical deformity and thirst for gold we knew something already. Rainbow Pete had come to Mushrat Portage, playing ...
— The Best Short Stories of 1917 - and the Yearbook of the American Short Story • Various

... been busy and absorbed in his work, and that if he had at times appeared preoccupied it was not to be wondered at. But when he looked at Rebecca he did not put these thoughts into words; he did not even say that of course he should follow them soon, since there was nothing to detain him but a sketch or two he had meant ...
— Lodusky • Frances Hodgson Burnett

... detain you, Mr. Froelich; it only remains for me to apologize for any trouble I may have given you. I must ask you to be kind enough to lend me this letter, which, however, I shall send on to you in a ...
— War-time Silhouettes • Stephen Hudson

... maintain the laws. Straightway two friends of the family made all haste to the camp, which they reached the same evening. Virginius immediately obtained leave of absence, and was already on his way to Rome, when the messenger of Appius arrived, instructing his colleagues to detain him. Early next morning Virginius and his daughter came into the forum with their garments rent. The father appealed to the people for aid, and the women in their company sobbed aloud. But, intent upon the gratification ...
— A Smaller History of Rome • William Smith and Eugene Lawrence

... touch me you will get hurt. You have no business to detain me and you will get the ...
— The Hilltop Boys on the River • Cyril Burleigh

... defiant figure that was observing their every action. The boy looked as though ready to brave them to their face, if so be they turned out to be new enemies; or even take a header over the side, should they show signs of wanting to detain him against ...
— Chums in Dixie - or The Strange Cruise of a Motorboat • St. George Rathborne

... shall not detain, but rather speed you on your way," he said, leading her out and assisting her to mount ...
— Elsie's Motherhood • Martha Finley

... say that, for I had expected some surprise at the view from this particular point," she answered, evidently wishing to detain him ...
— Mabel's Mistake • Ann S. Stephens

... nation for one year, and yet remain unanswered; in fact, the opinions of many of our most learned judges and lawyers multiplying on all sides, sustain the positions taken in the "Woodhull Memorial." As our demands are based on the same principles of constitutional interpretation, I will not detain you with the re-statement of arguments already furnished, but will present a few facts and general principals showing the need of some speedy action on ...
— History of Woman Suffrage, Volume II • Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage

... less could one reproach him for not being this, that, or the other. It was his faith to believe that salvation rests on the negation and renunciation of personality. He pushed this to the complete suppression of his Will, tenderly considered. I need not detain you on the familiar dogmas of Christianity with regard to the reign of nature and the reign of grace. Your ...
— Robert Orange - Being a Continuation of the History of Robert Orange • John Oliver Hobbes

... death, and his assassin's execution, could hardly fail to detain M. Dumas. At Frankfort he applies to a friend for an introduction to some person likely to give him details concerning Kotzebue and Sand, and his friend procures him a letter addressed to Mr Widemann, surgeon, Heidelberg. He has no letter for any body at Mannheim, and after visiting Kotzebue's ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 343, May 1844 • Various

... ready. [Looking at the paper. Then to KERCHIVAL.] Colonel! I have a very important matter to arrange with you; there is not a moment to be lost. I will ask Captain Heartsease to remain. [FRANK salutes and starts up stage; HAVERILL looks at him, starting slightly; raises his hand to detain him.] ...
— Shenandoah - Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911 • Bronson Howard

... I do not detain my hearers with any further reference to Maria Theresa. She long occupies the pages of history—the interesting and captivating princess—the able and still attractive Queen—the respected and venerable matron, grown prudent by long familiarity with the uncertainty of fortune, and ...
— The Great Events by Famous Historians, v. 13 • Various



Words linked to "Detain" :   slow up, buy time, straiten, detention, put away, imprison, immure, free, put behind bars, rush, cage in, bind over, stall, gaol, check, detainee, confine, retard, catch, trap, jail, cage, keep in, decelerate, keep, remand, hold up, stonewall, lag, slow down, intern, incarcerate, pin down, jug, slow



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