Synonyms of withheld

withheld 1 of 2

adjective

as in suppressed

Related Words

• suppressed
• reserved
• concealed
• revoked
• repressed
• stifled
• personal
• retracted
• silenced
• intimate
• surreptitious
• undisclosed
• clandestine
• recanted
• classified
• undercover
• covert
• underhanded
• collusive
• confidential
• conspiratorial
• underhand
• unannounced
• unadvertised
• private
• privy
• secret

Dissimilar Words

• public
• open
• general
• popular
• unclassified
• nonclassified
• well-known

withheld

2 of 2

verb

past tense of withhold

1

as in denied

to be unwilling to grant

must withhold official approval until all the proper forms have been submitted

Synonyms & Similar Words

• denied
• refused
• rejected
• declined
• disallowed
• disapproved
• forbade
• prohibited
• restricted
• vetoed
• kept
• nixed
• reprobated
• proscribed
• banned
• enjoined
• negatived
• spurned
• rebuffed
• restrained
• checked
• held
• hindered
• constrained
• repelled
• repressed
• curbed
• impeded
• obstructed
• balked (at)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• granted
• provided
• permitted
• allowed
• supplied
• conceded
• let
• furnished
• afforded
• gave
• authorized
• licensed
• agreed (to)
• commissioned
• acquiesced
• warranted
• consented (to)
• accorded
• sanctioned
• OK'd
• acceded (to)
• assented (to)
• vouchsafed

2

as in retained

to continue to have in one's possession or power

withhold some money for your own expenses

Synonyms & Similar Words

• retained
• kept
• held
• preserved
• possessed
• reserved
• saved
• had
• protected
• guarded
• held on to
• enjoyed
• owned
• conserved
• hung on to
• boasted
• ruled
• controlled
• managed
• detained
• directed
• bore
• clung (to)
• cherished
• commanded
• hugged
• harbored
• treasured

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• released
• surrendered
• yielded
• abandoned
• dropped
• gave
• contributed
• relinquished
• gave up
• ceded
• donated
• rejected
• discarded
• handed over
• dumped
• declined
• lost
• repudiated
• handed out
• spurned

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of withheld

Adjective

The withheld funding supports election monitoring, independent media and other pro-democracy programs abroad. — Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025

Verb

Baldwin’s trial for involuntary manslaughter was cut short in July 2024, when the judge dismissed the charge after learning that Morrissey had withheld evidence from the defense. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026

Seventy-eight Democrats in the Assembly and Senate backed the bill, while a handful of members of the supermajority party withheld their votes and Republicans voted en masse against it. — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 30 Sep. 2026

To weaponize this advantage, the 30 clubs have withheld roughly $75 million each in central-fund distributions, amassing a $2 billion liquidity holdback. — Chris Koras, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026

The man, whose identity was withheld until his family could be notified, fatally plunged from a mountainous area of Hyrum, Utah, east of Millville Canyon and east of the small city of Millville, Cache County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Doyle Peck said. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026

The 63-year-old woman's identity and the circumstances of her death were withheld by police pending an autopsy by the New York City Medical Examiner's Office, an NYPD spokesperson told ABC News. — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026

An additional $10 million was being withheld from a minority business development program. — Kevin Freking, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

His name was initially withheld for family notifications before police released his identity on Thursday. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026

That, even if someone else read the words, perhaps some part of it could be withheld, could be sheltered. — Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026