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he power of retaining; retentiveness. No woman's heart So big, to hold so much; they lack retention. Shak.

Want of retaining power; forgetfulness. De Quincey.

Retention or suppression of the menstrual discharge.

A small circumscribed tumor of the eyelid caused by retention of secretion, and by inflammation of the Melbomian glands.

An unnatural retention of the fecal matter of the bowels; constipation.

ient; peevish; as, a froward child. A froward man soweth strife. Prov. xvi. 28. A froward retention of custom is as turbulent a thing as innovation. Bacon.

. & Med.), the lower portion of the bowel, terminating at the anus. It is adapted for the retention of fecal matter, being shorter, broader, and less convoluted than the small intestine; it consists of three parts, the cæcum, colon, and rectum. -- Small intestine (Human Anat. & Med.), the upper portion of the bowel, i…

A retention or suppression of urine.

The actual and distinct retention and recognition of past ideas in the mind; remembrance; as, in memory of youth; memories of foreign lands.

The retention by the President of the United States of a bill unsigned so that it does not become a law, in virtue of the following constitutional provision (Const. Art. I., sec. 7, cl. 2): "If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him,…

The act of retaining; retention.

The act of retaining; retention. Dr. H. More.

Retention within one's grasp or power; hold; possession; ownership. Make o'er thy honor by a deed of trust, And give me seizure of the mighty wealth. Dryden.

f a natural secretion or excretion; as, suppression of urine; -- used in contradiction to retention, which signifies that the secretion or excretion is retained without expulsion. Quain.

The retention of the afterbirth in cows. Gardner.