retentie

Retentie is a term meaning the act or condition of retaining or holding onto something. In many languages, including Dutch and French-based contexts, it is used similarly to retention. The word derives from Latin retentio, from retinere “to hold back.”

In psychology and education, retention refers to the ability to retain or remember information over time. It is influenced by encoding quality, rehearsal, spacing, and retrieval strength; assessment is via tests comparing initial learning to later recall.

In business, customer retention describes keeping existing customers over time, as opposed to acquiring new ones. Retention rates, churn, and customer lifetime value are key metrics; strategies include product quality, service, personalization, and loyalty programs.

In data management, data retention refers to policies governing how long data is stored and when it is deleted or archived, for legal, regulatory, or operational reasons.

In the natural sciences, retention can describe how long water or heat is stored in a system, such as reservoir retention time, or soil water retention capacity. In medicine, urinary retention denotes inability to void completely, a condition requiring clinical evaluation.