HELD BACK Synonyms: 107 Similar and Opposite Words

held back

verb

past tense of hold back

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

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as in stifled

to refrain from openly showing or uttering held back her tears until she was alone

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of held back The new on-pitch laws… There was confusion at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium in the first round of the Carabao Cup, when substitute Fin Cartwright was held back from entering the pitch straight away. — George Edwards, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026 Yet too many are held back by a lack of financial confidence. — Kate Hayward, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Chinese state media suggested the possibility of leveraging rare earths as retaliation, but Beijing still held back. — Gloria Xiong, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026 New equipment and technology have been installed in the temporary building rather than held back for the finished center. — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026 Severe drought in 2022 on Lake Mead, which is held back by the Hoover Dam, exposed human remains and forced water officials in Las Vegas to pump water from deeper within the reservoir to continue to supply water to millions of people. — Ty O'Neil, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026 In the first quarter of 2026, when Honeywell Aerospace was still part of the Honeywell conglomerate, the company’s sales were held back by supply shortages for mechanical products. — Zev Fima,kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 2 Aug. 2026 As chair, Wicks has outsized influence over whether a bill gets held back, and the Appropriations Committee can do so without offering a public explanation. — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 30 July 2026 Crump said this could be because parts were held back by the medical examiner in the first autopsy, which Mitchell explained was common while undergoing further testing. — Lorena O’Neil, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held back

Verb

The lack of wreckage has hampered efforts to determine the cause of the sinking and where to focus search operations, authorities said.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
The shouting match ultimately ended with Anthony deciding not to testify, a decision his attorneys said hampered his ability to effectively claim self-defense in the killing.

— Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of hampered

Verb

Youri Tielemans and Santos, United’s new midfield partnership, were hooked on 67 minutes, showing the extent to which Hull had stifled them.

— Liam Tharme, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Washington also seemed to open up the playbook, with downfield passing concepts that confused Miami defensive backs and pressure packages that stifled the Dolphins offensive line.

— David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of stifled

Verb

The administration’s postponement of a Food and Drug Administration rule hampered the food safety system, which hindered a response to the outbreak.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
Shanahan, whose concussion from a July 14 car crash hindered him at the start of camp, said players’ Guardian-cap cushions can only do so much.

— Cam Inman, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of hindered

Verb

That combination, just like QIH, suppressed neuronal firing and stripped out a comparable share of synapses, but the mice came out of it with impaired fear memory.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 22 Aug. 2026
The unknowns attached to Brooks have understandably kept his ADP suppressed.

— Brad Evans, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of suppressed

Verb

Kupor, head of the government’s chief human resources agency since July 2025, has publicly argued even jobs conducive to remote work can be impeded by working from home.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026
Kenya’s Red Cross said difficult terrain and a fire at the site of the crash impeded its search and recovery efforts.

— Alexandra Bacallao, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of impeded

Verb

One night earlier in the tour, a woman Usher had brought onstage rebuked him, which embarrassed him.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2026
This isn’t a hypercar to smash lap records around the Nürburgring, but nor will it be embarrassed by a Porsche 911 GT3 at a track day.

— Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 14 Aug. 2026