preventive detention
Americannoun
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the holding of someone in jail or in an institution because they are regarded as a danger to the community.
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English Law. imprisonment of habitual criminals for periods ranging from 5 to 14 years during which they are given corrective training or placed under psychiatric and medical care.
Etymology
Origin of preventive detention
First recorded in 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
India on Saturday ended the preventive detention of prominent Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk, freeing him six months after he was held over protests in the Himalayan region.
From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026
On Wednesday, chief prosecutor Ute Lindemann described Brückner as a "dangerous, psychopathic sadist" and said he should be placed in preventive detention after serving his sentence.
From BBC • Oct. 2, 2024
“We are moving quickly to implement a preventive detention regime,” O’Neil told Parliament.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 28, 2023
Mr. Shah and Mr. Gul were charged under the Public Safety Act, which can allow the authorities to keep suspects in jail for up to two years under so-called preventive detention.
From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2023
We have already preventive detention for older persons, who, having been four times convicted of serious crime, are proved to be "habitual criminals."
From London's Underworld by Holmes, Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
