WITHHOLDING Synonyms: 97 Similar and Opposite Words

withholding

verb

present participle of withhold

as in denying

to be unwilling to grant must withhold official approval until all the proper forms have been submitted

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in keeping

to continue to have in one's possession or power withhold some money for your own expenses

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 withholding At the hearing, a lawyer for trustee Jodi Montgomery, who has been withholding the funds, also asked the judge to authorize payments into Reiner’s jail commissary account. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2026 Concerns over corruption and democratic backsliding prompted the bloc to begin withholding billions in funding to Hungary in 2021. — Justin Spike, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026 Busfield’s attorneys had accused prosecutors in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, of pursuing the case despite a lack of evidence and withholding witness testimony from grand jurors, according to the AP. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Megan James, 33, who at the time was Siira’s fellow caregiver, was also arrested and charged with her murder and related felonies, the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office first reported in June 2024 while withholding Siira’s name as the victim. — Idaho Statesman, 9 Oct. 2026 The consignment came at a dire time for the gallery, which has faced multiple lawsuits in recent years, including one filed by artist Jeffrey Gibson, alleging the gallery was withholding hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales proceeds. — News Desk, Artforum, 2 Oct. 2026 The Trib is withholding Nick’s full name to avoid marring his reputation in the eyes of future employers or others who might run a search on him. — Kate Payne, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026 The goal is not to manufacture dependency by withholding information people need to do their jobs; that would simply create bureaucracy. — Samuel Rodrigues, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026 The federal government had also been squeezing the region economically, by withholding funds needed to pay Tigray’s civil servants and limiting access to banks and fuel, according to the TPLF. — Alemayehu Fentaw Weldemariam, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for withholding

Verb

Before the documentary was released, Brand posted a video online denying the allegations.

— News Editor, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
The criminal complaint accuses them of lying to lawmakers in 2023 by denying contemporaneous knowledge of the Biden laptop or participating in internal FBI conversations about it.

— Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of denying

Verb

Matsui, meanwhile, has tried to carefully navigate keeping her moderate Democrat base while appealing to Republicans who might view Vang as too liberal for the district.

— Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2026
By tonight, your attention turns toward what feels worth keeping, spending, or investing in.

— Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of keeping

Verb

That same day, another federal district judge in a separate case in California barred DOJ from threatening election workers with criminal prosecution for refusing to stop processing ballots or resisting other demands.

— Dan Mangan,Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2026
Tanner McKee looked like a backup all night, holding the ball, taking sacks, refusing to throw downfield and turning the ball over twice.

— Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of refusing

Verb

On September 19, Miller’s forecast gave the Republicans an almost 36% chance of retaining control of the upper chamber.

— Shawn Tully, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
Attias said the family decided in 2025 to finally open the Clark, later retaining OTH Hotels Resorts to manage it.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of retaining

Verb

Idahoans were on track to keep the keys to the state’s drug policy Tuesday evening, with two-thirds of voters rejecting a measure that would take the future legalization of marijuana out of their hands.

— Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 3 Nov. 2026
Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment strengthening the state’s most visible form of direct democracy, months after overwhelmingly rejecting a proposal that would weaken it.

— Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of rejecting

Verb

Michael McCoy, 34, is charged with kidnapping the woman and holding her for three days.

— Maven Navarro, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2026
In the morning, our breakfasts were put through the hole in the door, in small oblong-square tin pans, made to fit, and holding a pint of chocolate, with brown bread, and an iron spoon.

— René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of holding

Verb

China was once a key profit center for Volkswagen, but now the company faces declining demand for cars there on top of fierce price competition from local carmakers.

— ABC News, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026
Search growth is declining, and Google is placing all its eggs in the AI basket.

— Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of declining

Verb

Over time, even the material making up the bones and teeth ought to have dissolved away and been replaced by minerals from the surrounding rock, preserving little more than the bone’s architecture.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Nov. 2026
Refrigeration systems play a critical role in preserving perishable inventory throughout supermarket supply chains.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2026