Antonyms for holding back

Grammar : Verb

Spell : hohld

Phonetic Transcription : hoʊld

Definition of holding back

Origin : Old English haldan (Anglian), healdan (West Saxon), "to contain, grasp; retain; foster, cherish," class VII strong verb (past tense heold, past participle healden), from Proto-Germanic *haldanan (cf. Old Saxon haldan, Old Frisian halda, Old Norse halda, Dutch houden, German halten "to hold," Gothic haldan "to tend"), originally "to keep, tend, watch over" (as cattle), later "to have." Ancestral sense is preserved in behold. The original past participle holden was replaced by held beginning 16c., but survives in some legal jargon and in beholden.
Hold back is 1530s, transitive; 1570s, intransitive; hold off is early 15c., transitive; c.1600, intransitive; hold out is 1520s as "to stretch forth," 1580s as "to resist pressure." Hold on is early 13c. as "to maintain one’s course," 1830 as "to keep one’s grip on something," 1846 as an order to wait or stop. To hold (one's) tongue "be silent" is from c.1300. To hold (one's) own is from early 14c. To hold (someone's) hand "give moral support" is from 1935. Phrase hold your horses "be patient" is from 1844. To have and to hold have been paired alliteratively since at least c.1200, originally of marriage but also of real estate.

verb repress

Example sentences :

Or, have you been holding back from Him, fearing He might make some changes in you or your plans?
Extract from : « Quiet Talks on Power » by S.D. Gordon

There's something on your mind, and it's holding back your complete recovery.
Extract from : « Owen Clancy's Happy Trail » by Burt L. Standish

You are always stirring up a fuss and holding back the game.
Extract from : « Hester's Counterpart » by Jean K. Baird

These are the men who are holding back the wheels of progress.
Extract from : « Grey Town » by Gerald Baldwin

He was occupied in his cigar, and in holding back the pliant boughs.
Extract from : « A Room With A View » by E. M. Forster

Then, holding back from testimony is a snare into which some of you have fallen.
Extract from : « Standards of Life and Service » by T. H. Howard

More like them, in the trenches, are holding back the Germans.
Extract from : « The Backwash of War » by Ellen N. La Motte

These cattlemen are holding back settlement for their own selfish purposes.
Extract from : « The Eagle's Heart » by Hamlin Garland

He interrupts himself, holding back the name—Helen Armstrong.
Extract from : « The Death Shot » by Mayne Reid

After just the right amount of holding back and objecting, Lopresto agreed.
Extract from : « Subspace Survivors » by E. E. Smith

Synonyms for holding back

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019