retained object

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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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Origin of retained object

First recorded in 1930–35

Words nearby retained object

retail price index, retail therapy, retain, retained, retained earnings, retained object, retained object complement, retainer, retainership, retaining ring, retaining wall

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use retained object in a sentence

Weeks retained an unparalleled legal team, which included bitter political rivals Hamilton and Burr.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But by far the most interesting object, which held enormous fascination for me, sat high up on the top shelf.
My Love Letter to the Stetson|Mark McKinnon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And who better to do that with than the actress who is playing the object of said (alleged) lesbian affection in the flick?
Inside the Lifetime Whitney Houston Movie’s Lesbian Lover Storyline|Kevin Fallon|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If they run off with somebody else, we say they were stolen—as if they are an object or a commodity.
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The former apprentice engineer retained a lifelong interest in the way things worked.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Mrs. Dodd, the present vicar's wife, retained the precious prerogative of choosing the book to be read at the monthly Dorcas.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The people here retained the same paganism and barbarity, only they were not so dangerous, being conquered by the Muscovites.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
Beginners must be warned against mistaking the edges of cells, or particles which have retained the red stain, for bacilli.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The thought seemed to produce the dreaded object, for next moment a large hummock appeared right ahead.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Naturally the conversation fell on the all-absorbing topic of the day and the object of his mission.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

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