detainee

American  

[dih-tey-nee, dee-tey-nee] / dɪˈteɪ ni, ˌdi teɪˈni /

noun

1. a person held in custody, especially for a political offense or for questioning.

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Etymology

Origin of detainee

First recorded in 1925–30; detain + -ee

Explanation

A prisoner is sometimes called a detainee, especially if they're being held by a government or its military forces. Political prisoners are often referred to as detainees, as are people captured by armed forces. Legally, anyone who is being temporarily held or detained until they can be tried in a court is also called a detainee. An inmate or prisoner, on the other hand, has been convicted and imprisoned as part of a legal sentence. Detainee and detain come from the Latin root detinere, "to hold off or hold back."

Example Sentences

"We have written in the letter that we released your detainee here, so you should release our detainee there as well," his son said.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

If you went online to the detainee locator, a lot of the time it would say the person is in custody, but it would not tell you where they were.

From Slate • Feb. 17, 2026

Last September another detainee at the facility died after experiencing a seizure at the facility, ICE officials said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 18, 2026

Campos’s death is the second at the violation-heavy Camp Montana East and the fourth death of an ICE detainee so far in 2026.

From Salon • Jan. 16, 2026

The detainee who is wise enough to realize this will never find any cause for complaint, but only all conceivable help, to erase the memory of what he had been accused of.

From My Life and My Efforts by Olesch, Gunther

Related Words

• hostage
• prisoner
• prisoner of war
• slave