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keep one's attention

[/kiːp wʌnz əˈtenʃən/]
verb phrase
manter a atenção de alguém
1. to maintain someone's interest or focus; to hold someone's attention without letting it wander
The movie kept my attention throughout the entire two hours.
O filme manteve minha atenção durante as duas horas inteiras.
2. to continue to be interesting or engaging to someone
A good teacher knows how to keep students' attention in class.
Um bom professor sabe como manter a atenção dos alunos em sala de aula.
Synonyms
hold one's attentioncapture one's attentionengage one's attentionmaintain one's focushold someone's interest
Antonyms
lose one's attentionboredistractdivert attention

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
manter a atenção de alguém
most common and widely understood
São Paulo
manter alguém atento
alternative formulation commonly used
Portugal
manter a atenção de alguém
same as Brazilian Portuguese
Rio de Janeiro
prender a atenção de alguém
slightly more colloquial variant

Related Idioms & Phrases

capture one's attention
hold someone's attention
span of attention
draw attention to
pay attention
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