retentivity

C2+ Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /ˌritɛnˈtɪvəti/ UK /ˌriːtɛnˈtɪvɪti/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the capacity to retain something, especially memory or magnetism

The alloy's high retentivity makes it ideal for permanent magnets.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the capacity to retain... retentiveness retention memory

Opposites

forgetfulness

Word family

Related forms retentive retentiveness retain retention

Etymology

From retentive + -ity, from Latin retentus, past participle of retinere ('to hold back'), from re- ('back') + tenere ('to hold').

retinere Latin tenere Latin *ten- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mind & Cognition Word Formation & Derivatives

# retentivity

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌritɛnˈtɪvəti
**IPA (UK):** ˌriːtɛnˈtɪvɪti

## Meanings
1. the capacity to retain something, especially memory or magnetism

## Examples
- The alloy's high retentivity makes it ideal for permanent magnets.

## Synonyms
- retentiveness
- retention
- memory

## Antonyms
- forgetfulness

## Related Forms
- retentive
- retentiveness
- retain
- retention

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: retinere
- Root: tenere
- Root: *ten-

## Etymology
From retentive + -ity, from Latin retentus, past participle of retinere ('to hold back'), from re- ('back') + tenere ('to hold').

## AI Etymology
Retentivity comes from retentive + -ity, from Latin retentus, past participle of retinere ('to hold back'), from re- ('back') + tenere ('to hold'). The historical chain includes Latin retinere, Latin tenere, and Proto-Indo-European *ten-. Older glosses in the chain include "to hold back", "back", and "to hold", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, retentivity is best read as compound, suffixal formation, and borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "the capacity to retain something, especially memory or magnetism". related forms include retentive, retentiveness, retain, and retention. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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retentivity

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