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
Relevance
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
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
Some of the plasma was held back and applied topically in a mask.
—
Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 18 Oct. 2025
Some, like the Rokid Glasses, come close—but they're consistently held back by technical shortcomings, clunky controls, and a lack of refinement.
—PC Magazine, 17 Oct. 2025
She was wrestled away from him as her crying children were held back by other agents.
—Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
But the unit is being held back by what was supposed to be its strength — the running game.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
The streams from his time in San Francisco, Oakland, and the nation’s capital did indeed feature some of the more frenzied throngs of people screaming his name and reaching out to touch him, held back only by a cadre of burly bodyguards.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 5 Oct. 2025
However, as the umpires left Wrigley Field on the first-base side — through the Padres' dugout — several members of San Diego had to be held back after going crazy on the men in black.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025
According to the reseachers, this unified multirate architecture improves responsiveness and stability by preventing faster subsystems from being held back by slower ones and embedding the jets’ dynamics directly into the prediction horizon.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
The Baltimore Ravens came into Sunday's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs with significant problems on the defensive side of the ball that have held back their typically impressive offense.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025
Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 18 Oct. 2025
Some, like the Rokid Glasses, come close—but they're consistently held back by technical shortcomings, clunky controls, and a lack of refinement.
—PC Magazine, 17 Oct. 2025
She was wrestled away from him as her crying children were held back by other agents.
—Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
But the unit is being held back by what was supposed to be its strength — the running game.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
The streams from his time in San Francisco, Oakland, and the nation’s capital did indeed feature some of the more frenzied throngs of people screaming his name and reaching out to touch him, held back only by a cadre of burly bodyguards.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 5 Oct. 2025
However, as the umpires left Wrigley Field on the first-base side — through the Padres' dugout — several members of San Diego had to be held back after going crazy on the men in black.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025
According to the reseachers, this unified multirate architecture improves responsiveness and stability by preventing faster subsystems from being held back by slower ones and embedding the jets’ dynamics directly into the prediction horizon.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
The Baltimore Ravens came into Sunday's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs with significant problems on the defensive side of the ball that have held back their typically impressive offense.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for held back
Verb
-
Pitching without discomfort from the thumb, back and neck issues that hampered him at various points during the regular season.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
-
While our study dating back to 1984 found that certain environmental contaminants induce T cells that suppress the immune system, further study on such cells was hampered by an inability in the field at large to isolate and characterize these cells.—
Mitzi Nagarkatti,
The Conversation,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Indians started to put together another seemingly productive drive until a fumble stifled the plans, and Lowell took over in Billerica territory.—
Erik Anderson,
Boston Herald,
18 Oct. 2025
-
That could have stifled the Dodgers’ offensive night.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Singapore is vulnerable if its sea lines of communication are hindered, as 90 percent of its food is imported and most arrives by sea.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Kim and her teammates were initially hindered by visual noise coming from Earth’s atmosphere.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The President praised the speed with which this modest protest was suppressed.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
-
The Secret Commonwealth is the condemnation of a world where imagination—not making things up, but a way of seeing, understanding, feeling the world—is suppressed by the dual forces of cold rationality and religious fundamentalisms that breed authoritarianism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Charges The obstruction charge centers on allegations that Comey directed subordinates to remove or conceal those memos from FBI systems after his dismissal in May 2017, actions prosecutors claim impeded a lawful investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified material.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
-
For years, technological, geographical and financial hurdles impeded wave and tide energy development.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Fangs tend to turn up in snake poop after they are swallowed.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
23 Oct. 2025
-
What epic tales might try to picture the explosion of the supervolcano in the Rocky Mountains and the gigantic crater lake of bubbling acid that eons ago swallowed places called Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Revolution provided a brief scare through a 59th-minute goal from Dor Turgeman, who embarrassed a defender before curling home a spectacular effort, but Inter Miami broke the tie almost immediately after the strike that made the score 2-1.—
Franco Panizo,
Miami Herald,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Me, a beautiful and clever five-time Emmy-winning writer with a few Wednesday nights free, and The Golden Bachelor, a heartwarming and adorable exploration of women’s second acts with a male doofus at the center who has already embarrassed himself.—
Ali Barthwell,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Yet this claim conceals the fact that registration is swift for compliant unions but obstructed for independent ones.—
Sourcing Journal,
Sourcing Journal,
15 Oct. 2025
-
What To Know DHS issued a statement claiming that Retes became violent, refused to comply with officers and obstructed their path, leading to his arrest for assault.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Held back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20back. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share