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 The police department is withholding his identity until the family is notified. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 3 July 2026 However, the department faced criticism from some lawmakers who questioned whether the department violated the act by withholding some materials and missing the deadline to release the files. — Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 2 July 2026 Edison SpA, the Italian electric utility unit under French group EDF, said QatarEnergy extended a force majeure notice, withholding four additional LNG cargoes scheduled for Italy’s Adriatic LNG terminal until early September. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 1 July 2026 As for Anthony's winnings, federal law requires a 24 percent withholding on prizes worth $5,000 or more, according to the Internal Revenue Service. — Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026 Trump was withholding money from Ukraine that Congress had appropriated, and that was the basis for the impeachment. — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 29 June 2026 The Daily News is withholding the teen’s name because of his age. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 29 June 2026 Authorities are withholding the deceased victim's identity pending family notification. — Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2026 The Navy has shifted from search and rescue to recovery operations, withholding the Marine’s name while crews scour roughly 2,400 square miles with military ships and aircraft. — Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for withholding

Verb

This has been compounded by massive cuts in international aid and a Taliban government that has sidelined half of Afghanistan’s population, denying women and girls education beyond primary school and banning them from the vast majority of jobs.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 July 2026
Similar restrictions have been challenged elsewhere, including in Georgia, where a federal judge ruled that denying hormone therapy to incarcerated people violated the Eighth Amendment.

— Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 8 July 2026

Definition of denying

Verb

Regents overruled a faculty task force, which had found the tests to be predictive of college success across demographics and recommended keeping them.

— Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
The airport recently extended its current lease agreement an extra year, keeping the status quo in place through at least June 30, 2027, while the city hammers out a long-term deal.

— Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 9 July 2026

Definition of keeping

Verb

The discipline is refusing to play the obvious one, which is accepting the first answer.

— Terry Oroszi, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
This season,, Sanders is and refusing to look ahead when asked about the team’s first two Big 12 games against Baylor and the league’s defending champions, Texas Tech.

— Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 July 2026

Definition of refusing

Verb

Graham would no doubt argue that this is a reasonable price to pay for retaining the ability to convince a President.

— Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 12 July 2026
Iran insists on retaining control over shipping through the waterway and says vessels should instead use routes through its own territorial waters.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 11 July 2026

Definition of retaining

Verb

El-Sayed has built his campaign around bold policy proposals, rejecting corporate PAC money and casting himself as an alternative to the status quo of the Democratic Party.

— Joey Cappelletti, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
Kalshi lost an attempt to override New York’s state gambling laws yesterday, with a federal judge rejecting the prediction market operator’s request to prevent enforcement of the rules.

— Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026

Definition of rejecting

Verb

Its lawns, mature trees and lake-facing vistas feel deliberately composed, holding attention on the landscape before releasing it outward to the water.

— Spencer Elliott, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
The farm is also holding a Fairy Festival on July 18 and 19 featuring scavenger hunts, fairy stories and other activities in addition to the usual hayrides, petting farm and pony rides.

— Janet Kusterer, Baltimore Sun, 10 July 2026

Definition of holding

Verb

There has been a lot of hand-wringing about the declining population of Los Angeles County, which lost 54,000 people from July 2024 to July 2025, the biggest numeric population drop in the nation during that period, by far.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
For years now, Olathe Schools has talked about its problem of declining enrollment.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2026

Definition of declining

Verb

Junie Brown is using her first solo exhibition to place Black trans joy inside a space dedicated to preserving Black history.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 8 July 2026
Those funds should be dedicated to preserving Medi-Cal, strengthening public hospitals and community clinics, reducing health care costs over the long term and protecting Californians from the devastating consequences of federal cost shifts.

— Dave Cortese, Mercury News, 8 July 2026