to keep back
4
5.1
- phrasal verb
- /kip bæk/
:
reprimir
- The police will have to keep back the crowd of fans wanting to speak with me.
- keep back her tears
Examples
-
She felt his delicate and vulnerable body and at last could not keep back her tears.
Fiction book (1997) -
- Yes, you can help by keeping back.
-
Keep back till I process the scene, okay?
-
Everyone was watching the activity at the apartment units, although deputies were keeping them all well back.
Fiction book (1990) -
Suling blinked several times to keep back the tears.
Fiction book (1997) -
His jaw quivered, and his eyes blinked to keep the tears back.
Fiction book (1990) -
I had to work to keep back the tears during the sad movie.
-
She blinked rapidly to keep back her emotions when she heard the news.
-
In the meeting, he struggled to keep back his frustration at the decision.
Synonyms
108
4.2
Keep yourself from showing feelings or telling others
88
5.8
To hold back feelings or reactions
87
4.2
Choose not to do something you want to do
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
5
7.0
To take back words you said
4
7.0
Stop yourself from showing a feeling when you want to cry
3
6.7
To hold back criticism or strong action to avoid hurting someone
2
7.7
To stop yourself from showing strong feelings like sadness or anger
To keep feelings inside instead of showing them
To hide your feelings so other people cannot see them
To hide your feelings so others cannot see them
To try not to show that you are very happy in front of other people
To stop yourself from making a sound when something is funny
Antonyms
How Suppressed
Surface Forms
Morphology
keep + back
The meaning 'to withhold' is a direct compositional extension of 'keep' (to hold or retain) combined with 'back' (towards the rear / away from others), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer holding something in reserve or preventing it from being released. This particle-verb pattern is a common, predictable phrasal-verb construction in English (and mirrors similar constructions in other languages), making the expression readily understandable at B1.
Etymology
Keep back comes from the image of pushing feelings to your back so they do not show. Imagine pressing tears and anger down until they stay hidden. That's why it means 'to hold in' your emotions.