adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of retentive
1325–75; Middle English retentif < Middle French < Medieval Latin retentīvus, equivalent to Latin retent ( us ) ( see retention) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
If something is retentive, it is able to hold something else, so be glad if you have a retentive mind and grab a sponge if you need something retentive to sop up water. Retentive is closely related to the word retain. Both come from the Latin retinere, which means "to hold back." If you are a farmer, it's good to know how water-retentive your soil is, or how much water it can hold and store. How much information can your brain hold and store? For someone with a retentive mind or memory or eye, it's quite a lot!
Vocabulary lists containing retentive
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Black Boy
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act 1
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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.
Guardian contributor RobBrydon 02 September 2015 3:28pm Annually Retentive is an interesting one for me.
From The Guardian • Sep. 2, 2015
Not online, on YouTube, zilch! flatfrog blibbka asks: The whole series of Annually Retentive was a bit of a forgotten gem.
From The Guardian • Sep. 2, 2015
Guardian contributor RobBrydon 02 September 2015 3:28pm Annually Retentive is an interesting one for me.
From The Guardian • Sep. 2, 2015
Brydon has his own unreality comedy series, Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive, playing an exaggerated version of himself as a quiz-show host.
From Time • Jun. 10, 2011
Retentive, holding, retaining, said of soil which holds water.
From The First Book of Farming by Goodrich, Charles Landon
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.
