| tenir |
| 1. v. to have; to hold | |
| 2. v. to keep | |
| 3. v. to take (e.g., take into account, take into consideration); to consider; to account for; to reflect | |
| Peut-être devons-nous tenir compte de plusieurs problèmes. - Maybe we should take several issues into account. | |
| 4. v. to stay; to hold | |
| 5. v. to hold on | |
| Elle descend en se tenant aux racines. - She comes down using the roots for handles (holding on to the roots). | |
| 6. v. to hold oneself, to be standing | |
| Il se tenait dans le coin. - He stood in the corner. | |
| 7. v. to behave | |
| Tiens-toi bien. - Behave yourself. | |
| 8. v. to maintain, remain in a certain position or disposition | |
| Tiens-toi droit! - Keep yourself straight! | |
| Elle se tient immobile sur la corde raide. - She stays still on the tightrope. | |
| 9. v. (indtr, à) to be attached to something, to be fond of something, to hold something dear; to wish to | |
| 10. v. to hang out | |
| retenir |
| 1. v. to retain, hold | |
| 2. v. to hold back, rein in | |
| 3. v. to keep, detain, hold up | |
| 4. v. to remember | |
| 5. v. to accept (que that) | |
| 6. v. to uphold | |
| 7. v. 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. | |
| détenir |
| 1. v. (legal) to detain | |
| 2. v. to possess, to have, to hold | |
