English dictionary
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English verb: hold back | |||
| 1. | hold back (competition) hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of | ||
| Samples | Arrest the downward trend. Check the growth of communism in South East Asia. Contain the rebel movement. Turn back the tide of communism. | ||
| Synonyms | arrest, check, contain, stop, turn back | ||
| Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s somebody. Something ----s somebody. Something ----s something | ||
| Broader (hypernym) | defend | ||
| Narrower (hyponym) | cut down, cut out | ||
| 2. | hold back (social) keep under control; keep in check | ||
| Samples | Suppress a smile. Keep your temper. Keep your cool. | ||
| Synonyms | keep, keep back, restrain | ||
| Pattern of use | Somebody ----s somebody. Somebody ----s somebody PP | ||
| Broader (hypernym) | bottle up, inhibit, suppress | ||
| Narrower (hyponym) | bottle up, check, confine, contain, control, curb, hold, hold, hold in, inhibit, moderate, suppress | ||
| 3. | hold back (stative) refrain from doing | ||
| Samples | She forbore a snicker. | ||
| Synonyms | forbear | ||
| Pattern of use | Somebody ----s | ||
| Broader (hypernym) | forbear, refrain | ||
| 4. | hold back (stative) wait before acting | ||
| Samples | The scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment. | ||
| Examples | They hold back a long time | ||
| Synonyms | hold off, wait | ||
| Pattern of use | Somebody ----s. Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s VERB-ing | ||
| Broader (hypernym) | act, move | ||
| Narrower (hyponym) | delay, hold out | ||
| 5. | hold back (possession) secure and keep for possible future use or application | ||
| Samples | The landlord retained the security deposit. I reserve the right to disagree. | ||
| Examples | They hold back the money | ||
| Synonyms | hold, keep back, retain | ||
| Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something | ||
| Broader (hypernym) | hold on, keep | ||
| Narrower (hyponym) | hold down | ||
| 6. | hold back (perception) hold back; keep from being perceived by others | ||
| Samples | She conceals her anger well. | ||
| Synonyms | conceal, hold in | ||
| Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something | ||
| Narrower (hyponym) | occult | ||
Based on WordNet 3.0 copyright © Princeton University.
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Web design: Orcapia v/Per Bang. English edition: .
2024 onlineordbog.dk