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Synonyms for hold back


Grammar : Verb
Spell : hohld
Phonetic Transcription : hoʊld

Top 10 synonyms for hold back Other synonyms for the word hold back

Définition of hold 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 :
  • Does it hold back the lash from the slave, or sweeten his bitter bread?
  • Extract from : « The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII) » by John Greenleaf Whittier
  • It ain't no use fer you to hold back; we've got a ladder, and by Jiminy!
  • Extract from : « The Village Watch-Tower » by (AKA Kate Douglas Riggs) Kate Douglas Wiggin
  • But when it came I would not hold back for my shipmates' sake.
  • Extract from : « The House Under the Sea » by Sir Max Pemberton
  • He smiled, pretending to hold back much laughter, and Mary smiled too.
  • Extract from : « Dr. Sevier » by George W. Cable
  • He leads her straight into the woes: will she follow, will she hold back?
  • Extract from : « The Prodigal Returns » by Lilian Staveley
  • She had much ado to hold back most unqueenly tears of disappointment.
  • Extract from : « The Island Mystery » by George A. Birmingham
  • The people that should have been ready to welcome them, hold back.
  • Extract from : « The O'Donoghue » by Charles James Lever
  • If others were cowardly enough to hold back, he would go alone.
  • Extract from : « The Trail of '98 » by Robert W. Service
  • There's the ground, and there's the precious metals it's a-tryin' to hold back on us.
  • Extract from : « The Trail of '98 » by Robert W. Service
  • Please don't think I'm not wantin' to trust you, because I hold back.
  • Extract from : « The Banner Boy Scouts on a Tour » by George A. Warren
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019