to hold back
108
4.2
- phrasal verb
- /hoʊld bæk/
:
contenerse
- She struggled to hold back her tears during the sad movie.
I now see that when I hold back, I miss out.
- I now see that when I hold back, I miss out.
- She really, she really doesn't hold back in her writing.
- Why some women will hold back intimacy from you.
- You may just be learning to hold back more and more and blaming yourself.
- And that you cannot, there's no sense in holding back if that is your worldview.
- Princess Courtney's voice trembled as she uttered the word she'd held back for so long.
- Shame tends to lead most people to hide and hold back from the world.
- And so, even in their early years of dating, trust and holding back become the norm.
- Start a conversation, but hold back your true feelings.
- Regardless of that, the fact remains that many men hold back for this reason.
- She's like a self to it, like there's no holding back.
- If I constantly kind of hate myself, don't like myself, hold back my joy and bliss.
- It's worth the price because Gerald will not hold back.
Examples
-
If you try to hold back, it will only go worse for you.
Fiction book (1995) -
It was unbearable, but we did our best to hold back.
-
I now see that when I hold back, I miss out.
-
If you are holding back for too long, many will give up.
-
A lot of times, I'm just holding back.
-
As he talked, he could not hold back his emotions.
Academic text (2016) -
Shame tends to lead most people to hide and hold back from the world.
-
We stay quiet, we hold back, we censor ourselves.
-
Start a conversation, but hold back your true feelings.
-
Don't ever hold back a story from me again.
Synonyms
282
3.7
To hide something so others cannot see or find it
116
5.6
To say nothing to avoid trouble or keep a secret
97
4.9
To find it hard to speak because you feel strong emotion
90
2.5
To say nothing or not tell a secret
88
5.8
To hold back feelings or reactions
75
6.6
Keep strong feelings or memories from coming into the mind
72
4.6
Keep strong feelings under control so you do not act on them
65
4.5
To stop yourself from showing strong feelings
49
5.3
To hold back a feeling or reaction so it does not show
39
6.0
To stop a feeling or sound from being shown
24
5.6
To keep strong feelings inside instead of telling others
11
6.3
Make someone unable to act naturally or show feelings
5
7.0
To take back words you said
4
7.0
Stop yourself from showing a feeling when you want to cry
4
5.1
Stop yourself from showing an emotion like tears or laughter
4
4.4
To stop talking to keep a secret or when told to be quiet
3
8.1
Stop yourself from doing or saying something when you feel tempted
3
6.7
To hold back criticism or strong action to avoid hurting someone
3
5.4
To stay silent to avoid saying something rude
2
7.7
To stop yourself from showing strong feelings like sadness or anger
1
9.9
To stay silent on purpose to avoid trouble
To keep feelings inside instead of showing them
To hide your feelings so others cannot see them
To hide your feelings so other people cannot see them
To stop yourself from making a sound when something is funny
Antonyms
How Restrained
Surface Forms
Morphology
hold + back
The meaning 'to prevent someone or something from moving forward or making progress' is directly derivable from combining 'hold' (to restrain) with 'back' (indicating backward movement or prevention of forward motion). This compositional motion/restraint pattern is common in English phrasal verbs and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Hold back comes from the image of holding something behind you so it cannot show. Imagine pressing your hand to your mouth to stop a cry or a secret; you hold it back, so the phrase means 'to stop yourself from showing feelings or telling something'.