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verb

retenir

/ʁə.t(ə).niʁ/

See full conjugation →
verb/ʁə.t(ə).niʁ/

to retain, hold; to remember; to accept (que that); to uphold; to restrain oneself, hold back

Je n'ai pas pu me retenir, je n'ai pas pu m'en empêcher.I couldn't help myself.

Inherited from Middle French retenir, from Old French retenir, from Vulgar Latin *retenīre, from Latin retinēre, from re- + teneō (“to hold”).