Keep
Keep verb - To continue to have in one's possession or power.
Usage example: keep my secret and don't tell it to anyone
Retain is a synonym for keep in hold topic. In some cases you can use "Retain" instead a verb "Keep", when it comes to topics like deduct, possession, continue, preserve. popular alternative
Retain
Retain verb - To continue to have in one's possession or power.
Usage example: I plan to retain the family heirlooms until my own children are mature enough to appreciate them, and then I will lovingly pass them on
Keep is a synonym for retain in maintain topic. You can use "Keep" instead a verb "Retain", if it concerns topics such as action, hold, deduct, possession. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Only those who retain some aspect of their childhood, like Samantha did, manage to keep the ability to talk to animals into adulthood.
Source: Speaks Fluent Animal -
Certain types also retain their resistance against a specific status problem, like Electric-types being unable to get Paralyzed (though keep in mind that a status problem can be resisted by many types in this game, and the resistances aren't always intuitive).
Source: Video Game / Pokémon Shuffle - There is one thing that you must keep in mind to retain your sanity here, and that is that including a trope in a particular work does not make it "ruined." Not even those tropes.
Source: Tropes Are Tools
Cite this Source
Retain and Keep. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/keep/retain
Keep & Retain. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/keep/retain>.
Retain or Keep. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/keep/retain.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "keep" and "retain" have occurred on timeline