Retinue Meaning
/ˈɹɛ.tɪ.njuː/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA group of attendants or servants, especially of someone considered important.
nounA group of warriors or nobles accompanying a king or other leader; comitatus.
Sentence Examples
They're less a political party and more one conman and his retinue of suckers.
He grew up in the retinue of the king.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The queen arrived with her ____, who assisted her during the official ceremony.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The president arrived with a large ____ of advisers, security personnel, and diplomatic staff.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English retenue, from Old French retenue, past participle of retenir (“retain”). Doublet of ritenuto.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And not any longer as a king did Winter appear in those streets, as when the city was decked with gleaming white to greet him as a conqueror and he rode in with his glittering icicles and haughty retinue of prancing winds, but he sat there with a little wind at the corner of the street like some old blind beggar with his hungry dog."
— 1915 April, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], “Spring in Town”, in Fifty-one Tales, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The queen arrived with her ____, who assisted her during the official ceremony.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The president arrived with a large ____ of advisers, security personnel, and diplomatic staff.