Lady Bracknell. Pray allow me to detain you for a moment. This matter may prove to be one of vital importance to Lord Bracknell
and myself. Is this Miss Prism a female of repellent aspect, remotel connected with education?
ooo
What is the meaning of the word detain as it is used in the underlined portion?
to delay someone for a short period of time
to force someone officially to stay in place
to restrain especially from proceeding
In this excerpt. the word "detain" refers to the action of delaying or stopping someone for a short time.
In texts, the meaning of words can be determined based on context clues. This implies:
Analyzing the words near to the unknown word.
Understanding the general situation described.
In the excerpt presented, there is a conversation between two characters, as part of this conversation one character mentions the word "detain". This word is related to the following ideas:
"for a moment" which shows the action is just for a short period of time.
"matter...vital importance" which shows the character wants to discuss an important matter.
Based on this, the word "detain" most likely refers to the action of delaying someone for a short time.
