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Glite Dictionary
to fight down

to fight down

1 7.0
To try hard to hold back a strong feeling
  • phrasal verb
  • /faɪt daʊn/
translation icon : reprimir
  • The mass started to move forward, and he fought down a feeling that the whole thing was headed straight at him.
  • fought down the urge
  • fought down panic
  • fought down an impulse

Examples

  • Sweat beaded on his forehead as he shut his eyes, fighting down nausea.

    Blog text (6)

  • Janet fought down a desire to go find something that took a great deal of chewing.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • With an effort, he fought down the battle cry that rose in his throat.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • His throat felt dry, and he fought down a wave of nausea.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • "Quinn fought down the urge to bolt for the door."

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Jackie fought down bitterness that she couldn't walk across the room so easily.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Kross has to fight down his humiliation at Stuckey's tone.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Josh fought down another wave of disorientation, trying to dredge up the memory that had teased him.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Tessa fought down the anger that came at this childish arrogance.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • He fought down his fight down anxiety before speaking in front of the large crowd.

Synonyms

to fight
vsto fight down
∞ 1.0

To try hard to oppose or overcome something difficult

is focused on holding back feelings, not general opposition or striving
to resist
vsto fight down
291 2.5

Stop yourself from doing something you want to do

focuses on fighting internal urges specifically rather than resisting actions
to suppress
vsto fight down
88 5.8

To hold back feelings or reactions

is more of an active, often difficult internal struggle, not just control
to fight off
vsto fight down
51 3.7

To keep away an attack, illness, or strong unwanted feeling

is about ongoing inner struggle rather than winning a single repelling act
to fend off
vsto fight down
34 3.9

Keep unwanted people or things away so they do not harm you

is inward control of feelings, not outward defence against others or things
to choke back
vsto fight down
4 7.0

Stop yourself from showing a feeling when you want to cry

is a struggle over time to control urges rather than a single effort
to choke down
vsto fight down
2 7.7

To stop yourself from showing strong feelings like sadness or anger

is more about battling the feeling repeatedly rather than hiding it once

Antonyms

to give in
220 3.0

To stop resisting and agree to what others want

surrender
77 4.2

Giving up after defeat, for example when an army stops fighting

How Controlled

to control
∞ 2.4
to fight down
1 7.0
to succumb
43 7.0
to overcome
86 4.1

Surface Forms

fight down infinitive
fighting down present participle
fights down third person singular
fought down past
fought down past participle

Morphology

fight + down

The meaning 'to struggle to control or suppress a feeling' follows from combining 'fight' (to resist or oppose) with 'down' (to bring down or suppress), so the sense is partially inferable from the constituents. However, the use of 'down' here is metaphorical and phrasal-verb patterns vary, so a B1 learner might not fully predict the exact internal-control sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb fight down comes from the image of pushing something lower: to fight a feeling down is like forcing it into your chest so it does not show. So, it means 'to hold back or control a strong feeling'.