retentive

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French rétentif, from Old French retentif, from Medieval Latin retentivus, from Latin retentus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈtɛntɪv/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

retentive (comparative more retentive, superlative most retentive)

1. Having power to retain.

   a soil that is highly retentive of rainwater

   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, Can be retentive to the strength of spirit.

   • 1914, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados:

     Mr Carlyle smiled his indulgence privately.
     "My dear chap, you mustn't let your retentive memory of obscure happenings run away with you," he remarked wisely.

2. (slang, apocope) Anal-retentive.

Derived terms

• anal retentive
• anal-retentive
• gastroretentive
• irretentive
• nonretentive
• retentively
• retentiveness
• retentivity
• stereoretentive
• unretentive

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ten- (1 c, 163 e)

Noun

retentive (plural retentives)

1. (obsolete) That which retains or confines; a restraint.

References

• “retentive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Italian

Adjective

retentive

1. feminine plural of retentivo

Anagrams

• trivenete