detainee

D2E1T1A1I1N1E1E1
UK/ˌdɪteɪˈniː/

noun

Someone who is detained, especially in custody or confinement.

Similar
political detainee
Less commonScrabble 9

Meanings

noundetainee (plural detainees)

plural detainees

  1. Someone who is detained, especially in custody or confinement.

    In his statement, Miliband said the two flights had refuelled at Diego Garcia. Each one had a single detainee on board who did not leave the aircraft.

    2008 February 22, Richard Norton-Taylor and Julian Borger, “Embarrassed Miliband admits two US rendition flights refuelled on British soil”, in The Guardian
    2 more examples

    Louis Louaillier, a U.S. citizen, journalist, and assemblymember, wrote in his local newspaper, The Louisiana Courier, that detainees should go to a civil judge...

    2013, Anthony Gregory, The Power of Habeas Corpus in America: From the King's Prerogative to the War on Terror, page 74

    More than 3,000 people have been arrested since Jan. 9. The police have even released images of some detainees stripped down to their underwear, recalling images from Mr. Bukele's infamous megaprisons.

    2024 January 25, Iván Ulchur-Rota, “When Chaos Erupted in Ecuador, Disinformation Followed”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 31 Jan 2024

Synonyms & antonyms

nounsome held in custody

Similar
political detainee

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Arabic أسير, أسيرة
  • أسير (ʔasīr)one who is detained
  • أسيرة (ʔasīra)one who is detained
  • أسرى (ʔasrā)one who is detained
  • أسيرات (ʔasīrāt)one who is detained
Bulgarian задържан, арестант
  • задържан (zadăržan)one who is detained
  • арестант (arestant)one who is detained
Catalan detingut, detinguda
  • detingutone who is detained
  • detingudaone who is detained
Esperanto malliberulo
  • malliberuloone who is detained
French détenu, détenue
  • détenuone who is detained
  • détenueone who is detained
German Häftling, Gefangener
  • Häftlingone who is detained
  • Gefangenerone who is detained
Hungarian letartóztatott, elítélt
  • letartóztatottone who is detained
  • elítéltone who is detained
  • fogvatartottone who is detained
  • rabone who is detained
  • fogolyone who is detained
  • őrizetesone who is detained
Italian detenuto, detenuta
  • detenutoone who is detained
  • detenutaone who is detained
Portuguese detento, detenta
  • detentoone who is detained
  • detentaone who is detained
Russian задержанный
  • задержанный (zaderžannyj)one who is detained
Spanish detenido, detenida
  • detenidoone who is detained
  • detenidaone who is detained
Ukrainian затри́маний, затри́мана
  • затри́маний (zatrýmanyj)one who is detained
  • затри́мана (zatrýmana)one who is detained
Cite this entry
APA

detainee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detainee

MLA

“detainee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detainee. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “detainee,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detainee.

Source: detainee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.