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definitions

retained object

noun Grammar.

an object in a passive construction identical with the direct or indirect object in the active construction from which it is derived, as the picture in I was shown the picture, which is also the direct object in the active construction (They) showed me the picture.

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Nearby words

  1. retailing,
  2. retain,
  3. retained earnings,
  4. retained income,
  5. retained menstruation,
  6. retained object complement,
  7. retained testis,
  8. retainer,
  9. retainership,
  10. retaining ring

Origin of retained object

First recorded in 1930–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for retained object

retained object

noun

grammar a direct or indirect object of a passive verb. The phrase the drawings in the sentence Harry was given the drawings is a retained object
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