held back

verb

Definition of held backnext
past tense of hold back
1
as in hampered
to create difficulty for the work or activity of the only thing holding them back from joining the swim team is lack of transportation

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stifled
to refrain from openly showing or uttering held back her tears until she was alone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held back
  1. stifled
  2. suppressed
  3. impeded
  4. swallowed
  5. obstructed
Verb
  • This time around, the reflexive urge to publish was stifled.
    Andrew Wallenstein, Variety, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Boise State's defense stifled UNLV, allowing just one score.
    Giovanni Malloy, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024
Definition of stifled
Verb
  • But as Daniel Goleman writes in his book Social Intelligence, in a society that puts too much emphasis on individualism, the power of the social brain often gets suppressed and overlooked.
    Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • But Google's study, published in Nature, showed that for the first time, errors can be suppressed exponentially as a quantum computer increases in size – a breakthrough that has been pursued in the field for more than 30 years.
    Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK, theweek, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of suppressed
Verb
  • One, Manning, 5 feet 8, who runs like a steam engine in pads, is not to be impeded, nor are his teammates, who routed Newington, 50-0 on Sunday.
    Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 8 Dec. 2024
  • The hydroelectric dams also impeded fish migration for nearly a century.
    Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of impeded
Verb
  • This tract is a series of throat and stomach organs that include the esophagus and small and large intestines that food and liquids move through as they are swallowed, digested and absorbed.
    Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
  • That organizational defiance of a league-wide trend, expressed in succinct but undeniably contrarian terms by general manager Calvin Booth two months ago, actually hasn’t swallowed their season whole.
    Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of swallowed
Verb
  • Many also struggle with epiphora, where tear ducts are obstructed, resulting in constant eye discharge.
    Scott Travers, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
  • The Associated Press said ambulances and other emergency vehicles were seen turning around after being obstructed by these makeshift roadblocks.
    Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC News, 25 Nov. 2024
Definition of obstructed
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near held back

held a candle to

held back

held down

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Cite this Entry

“Held back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20back. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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