TAKING HOLD Synonyms: 17 Similar and Opposite Words

taking hold

phrase

present participle of take hold

as in working

to produce a desired effect It was clear in the students' essays that her lessons had taken hold.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 taking hold That effect is taking hold in prestige, too, with Circana data showing e-commerce is the biggest channel for prestige skin care and accounts for nearly half of total prestige beauty sales Stateside. — Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2026 The pallid grayness of Mike Eley’s cinematography is probably supposed to mimic the finality of HIV/AIDS taking hold, but there’s no passion aesthetically to counterbalance what becomes absolute misery onscreen to watch. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026 Marcin Golba | Nurphoto | Getty Images Best Buy on Thursday reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook as the company's recovery showed more signs of taking hold. — Laya Neelakandan, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026 In a note published on Monday, the global macroeconomic research firm highlighted how aviation data suggests a revival is taking hold, particularly in intra-GCC travel. — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2026 What evidence will show that a different pattern is taking hold? — Byleonie H. Mattison, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 To some extent, the 2026 festival was a retrospective of the late twentieth century, when modernist strictures were loosening and a more expansive, pluralistic mentality was taking hold. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for taking hold

taking effect

Phrase

The Three Corners Of AI On August 2, the EU’s AI Act reached one of its most consequential enforcement milestones, with new obligations and real enforcement powers taking effect across a wide swath of AI systems.

— Colby Proffitt, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026
The first of those state-court eligibility decisions, granted in Ohio in early July, was paused by an appeals court this week, blocking it from taking effect.

— Justin Williams, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026