The best replacement for retain is maintain.

The best alternatives to retain are rated as following:
★★★★★  maintain
★★★★  strong
★★  copy
★★  waive
★★  detain
★★  assign
★★  strong ios
★  not to retain
★  obtain
★  assign iboutlet
★  copy nsstring
★  assign ios
★  keep
★  remain
★  assign objective c
★  assign delegate
★  copy ios
  sustain
  autorelease

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Speaking about retain, one probably shouldn't forget about arrays sas.

Other search terms related to retain and their ratings are:
★★★★★ arrays sas
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retain
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