retain and explain

verb

To preserve historical material regarded as problematic (such as statues), with appropriate contextual explanation, rather than destroying it or attempting to erase it from history.

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Meanings

verbretain and explain (third-person singular simple present retains and explains, present participle retaining and explaining, simple past and past participle retained and explained)

present singular third person retains and explains · participle present retaining and explaining · participle past retained and explained · past retained and explained

  1. policyTo preserve historical material regarded as problematic (such as statues), with appropriate contextual explanation, rather than destroying it or attempting to erase it from history.

    [W]e have opted in this book to use the word catechesis rather than substitute something in its place. Our strategy is to retain and explain, rather than to reject and replace.

    2010, J. I. Packer, Gary A. Parrett, Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way, page 31
    1 more example

    The Roosevelt Memorial contest is parallel in time but also distinctly different from the 'retain and explain' position of the Conservative UK government regarding British colonialist monuments.

    2022, Kevin Coffee, Museums and Social Responsibility
Cite this entry
APA

retain and explain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retain%20and%20explain

MLA

“retain and explain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retain%20and%20explain. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retain and explain,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retain%20and%20explain.

Source: retain and explain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.