lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer; "We prolonged our stay"; "She extended her visit by another day"; "The meeting was drawn out until midnight"
lengthen or extend in duration or space; "We sustained the diplomatic negotiations as long as possible"; "prolong the treatment of the patient"; "keep up the good work"
exist over a prolonged period of time; "The bad weather continued for two more weeks"
continue talking; "I know it's hard," he continued, "but there is no choice"; "carry on--pretend we are not in the room"
keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last; "preserve the peace in the family"; "continue the family tradition"; "Carry on the old traditions"
continue a certain state, condition, or activity; "Keep on working!"; "We continued to work into the night"; "Keep smiling"; "We went on working until well past midnight"
continue after an interruption; "The demonstration continued after a break for lunch"
do something repeatedly and showing no intention to stop; "We continued our research into the cause of the illness"; "The landlord persists in asking us to move"
keep in one's mind; "I cannot retain so much information"
secure and keep for possible future use or application; "The landlord retained the security deposit"; "I reserve the right to disagree"
allow to remain in a place or position; "We cannot continue several servants any longer"; "She retains a lawyer"; "The family's fortune waned and they could not keep their household staff"; "Our grant has run out and we cannot keep you on"; "We kept the work going as long as we could"
hold within; "This soil retains water"; "I retain this drug for a long time"