retentionist

C2+ Topic:Numbers & Quantity
US /rɪˈtɛnʃənɪst/ UK /rɪˈtɛnʃənɪst/
noun

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    one who advocates keeping something, especially the death penalty

    The retentionist argued that abolishing the law would embolden offenders.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · one who advocates keeping... preservationist
Opposites
Word family

Etymology

From retention + -ist, from Latin retentio ('a holding back'), from retinere ('to hold back'), from re- ('back') + tenere ('to hold').

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