detain

Compared meaning: stop someone from leaving or continuing (verb).

比较义项：制止，阻止（v.）。

• stay

  Informal and mild; used for everyday suggestions or requests to not go somewhere or not do something, often among friends or family, with little sense of force.

  非正式、语气温和；用于日常建议或请求某人不要去某处或不做某事，常见于朋友或家人之间，几乎不含强制意味。

  Let's just stay the argument for now and talk about it tomorrow.

  我们先把这场争论放一放，明天再谈吧。

• detain 本词

  Formal and often official; implies someone is forcibly or officially delayed, commonly used for police, security staff, or bureaucratic procedures.

  正式且常带官方色彩；暗示某人被强制或依职权拦下、延误，常用于警察、保安人员或行政手续等场合。

  The security guards had to detain the man until police arrived.

  保安人员不得不把那名男子拦下，直到警察赶到。

Stay and detain can both mean stopping someone from going on or leaving. Stay is informal and mild, used for everyday requests not to go somewhere. Detain is formal and official, implying someone is delayed by force or rules, often by police or security staff.

这两个词都可表示“阻止某人继续做某事或前往某处”，但语气和语境差别很大：stay 更像日常、温和的建议或请求，detain 则是正式、常带强制性的动作，多用于执法或官方场合。stay 的其他常见意思（如“逗留、留下”）此处不比较；detain 在正式语域中还可指“拘留”，但此处只比较“延误、耽搁某人”这一义项。