arresting

[ uh-res-ting ]

/ əˈrɛs tɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR arresting ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

attracting or capable of attracting attention or interest; striking: an arresting smile.

making or having made an arrest: the arresting officer.

Nearby words

Origin of arresting

arrest + -ing²

Related formsar·rest·ing·ly, adverbnon·ar·rest·ing, adjectiveun·ar·rest·ing, adjective

arrest

[ uh-rest ]

/ əˈrɛst /

verb (used with object)

to seize (a person) by legal authority or warrant; take into custody: The police arrested the burglar.

to catch and hold; attract and fix; engage: The loud noise arrested our attention.

to check the course of; stop; slow down: to arrest progress.

Medicine/Medical. to control or stop the active progress of (a disease): The new drug did not arrest the cancer.

noun

the taking of a person into legal custody, as by officers of the law.

any seizure or taking by force.

an act of stopping or the state of being stopped: the arrest of tooth decay.

Machinery. any device for stopping machinery; stop.

Origin of arrest

1275–1325; (v.) Middle English aresten < Anglo-French, Middle French arester, < Vulgar Latin *arrestāre to stop (see ar-, rest²); (noun) Middle English arest(e) < Anglo-French, Old French, noun derivative of v.

SYNONYMS FOR arrest

1. apprehend. 2. secure, rivet, occupy. 3. stay. 5. detention, apprehension, imprisonment. 7. stoppage, halt, stay, check.

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Related forms

ar·rest·a·ble, adjectivear·rest·ment, nounpost·ar·rest, adjectivepre·ar·rest, verb (used with object)

pre·ar·rest·ment, nounre·ar·rest, verb (used with object), nounun·ar·rest·a·ble, adjectiveun·ar·rest·ed, adjective

Synonym study

3. See stop.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for arresting

Brown himself spent years arresting sex workers when, as Forman relays, “what [he] really wanted to do [was] help them.”
To Catch a Sex Worker: A&E’s Awful, Exploitative Ambush Show|Samantha Allen|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Federal officials spent Wednesday arresting members of the Boyle Heights-based street gang which has strong ties to La Eme.
The Mexican Mafia Is the Daddy of All Street Gangs|Seth Ferranti|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Bees Laline Paull (Ecco) This arresting debut novel is a daring dystopian story set in a beehive.
The Best Fiction of 2014: Ford, Ferrante, Klay, and More|William O’Connor|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even good, arresting visual art is transformed by its context.
Sneer and Clothing in Miami: Inside The $3 Billion Woodstock of Contemporary Art|Jay Michaelson|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Even good, arresting visual art is transformed by the gaze of a potential consumer.
Sneer and Clothing in Miami: Inside The $3 Billion Woodstock of Contemporary Art|Jay Michaelson|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"There's the pantry window," she cried, arresting her tears.
Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles|Mrs. Henry Wood
I lost my last month's pay for arresting a shark by mistake.
Harper's Round Table, May 7, 1895|Various
When the British authorities answered this defiance by arresting Nationalist leaders, Egypt flamed into rebellion from end to end.
The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy|Theodore Lothrop Stoddard
As Ollyett said our first care was to create an 'arresting atmosphere' round it.
A Diversity of Creatures|Rudyard Kipling
The arresting fact was that he was stirred by curiosity about her.
The Quaint Companions|Leonard Merrick

British Dictionary definitions for arresting

arresting

/ (əˈrɛstɪŋ) /

adjective

attracting attention; striking

Derived Formsarrestingly, adverb

arrest

/ (əˈrɛst) /

verb (tr)

to deprive (a person) of liberty by taking him into custody, esp under lawful authority

to seize (a ship) under lawful authority

to slow or stop the development or progress of (a disease, growth, etc)

to catch and hold (one's attention, sight, etc)

arrest judgment law to stay proceedings after a verdict, on the grounds of error or possible error

can't get arrested informal (of a performer) is unrecognized and unsuccessfulhe can't get arrested here but is a megastar in the States

noun

the act of taking a person into custody, esp under lawful authority

the act of seizing and holding a ship under lawful authority

the state of being held, esp under lawful authorityunder arrest

Also called: arrestation (ˌærɛsˈteɪʃən) the slowing or stopping of the development or progress of something

the stopping or sudden cessation of motion of somethinga cardiac arrest

Word Origin for arrest

C14: from Old French arester, from Vulgar Latin arrestāre (unattested), from Latin ad at, to + restāre to stand firm, stop

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for arresting

arresting

early 15c., "action of stopping" someone or something, verbal noun from arrest (v.).

arresting

adj.

"striking, that captures the imagination," 1792, present participle adjective from arrest (v.).

arrest

"to cause to stop," also "to detain legally," late 14c., from Old French arester "to stay, stop" (Modern French arrêter), from Vulgar Latin *arrestare (source of Italian arrestare, Spanish and Portuguese arrestar), from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + restare "to stop, remain behind, stay back" (see rest (n.2)). Figurative sense of "to catch and hold" (the attention, etc.) is from 1814.

arrest

late 14c., from Anglo-French arest, Old French areste, from arester (see arrest (v.)).

Medicine definitions for arresting

arrest

[ ə-rĕst′ ]

v.

To stop; check.

To undergo cardiac arrest.

n.

An interference with or a checking of the regular course of a disease or symptom, a stoppage.

Interference with the performance of a function.

The inhibition of a developmental process, usually the ultimate stage of development.

Idioms and Phrases with arresting

arrest

see under arrest.

arresting

adjective

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Origin of arresting

arrest

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of arrest

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for arresting

arresting

adjective

arrest

verb (tr)

noun

Word Origin for arrest

arresting

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arrest

arrest

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