HELD BACK Synonyms: 107 Similar and Opposite Words

held back

verb

past tense of hold back

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stifled

to refrain from openly showing or uttering held back her tears until she was alone

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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 Bringing PacWave South online will help streamline the testing and permitting process that has held back marine energy for decades, an Energy Department spokesperson said in a statement. — ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026 He was scheduled to throw over the weekend with El Paso but was held back after tweaking his back while working between starts. — Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026 Cunningham got up, charged Carrington and pushed her as she was held back by a teammate. — Jay Cohen, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026 Self Simulated is an obstacle-course platformer that recalls Super Meat Boy, but it's held back by controls that aren't nearly as tight and frustratingly large instant-kill hit boxes. — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 22 Aug. 2026 The new on-pitch laws… There was confusion at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium in the first round of the Carabao Cup, when substitute Fin Cartwright was held back from entering the pitch straight away. — George Edwards, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026 Yet too many are held back by a lack of financial confidence. — Kate Hayward, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Chinese state media suggested the possibility of leveraging rare earths as retaliation, but Beijing still held back. — Gloria Xiong, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026 New equipment and technology have been installed in the temporary building rather than held back for the finished center. — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held back

Verb

The lack of wreckage has hampered efforts to determine the cause of the sinking and where to focus search operations, authorities said.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
The shouting match ultimately ended with Anthony deciding not to testify, a decision his attorneys said hampered his ability to effectively claim self-defense in the killing.

— Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of hampered

Verb

Youri Tielemans and Santos, United’s new midfield partnership, were hooked on 67 minutes, showing the extent to which Hull had stifled them.

— Liam Tharme, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Washington also seemed to open up the playbook, with downfield passing concepts that confused Miami defensive backs and pressure packages that stifled the Dolphins offensive line.

— David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of stifled

Verb

Dodson and Rodriguez had been competing for the starting spot opposite Brooks, but injuries to that unit had watered down the competition and hindered the evaluation process.

— Omar Kelly August 26, Miami Herald, 26 Aug. 2026
The location of his injury has led some to wonder if he’ll be hindered — Judge did slump for a few weeks while playing through pain prior to going on the IL — but Boone didn’t share those concerns on Tuesday.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of hindered

Verb

When women tried to march for their rights, they were violently suppressed, and by 2023, nearly all those in Afghan jails were political prisoners, and many were tortured.

— The Week US, TheWeek, 31 Aug. 2026
Hong Kong's independent bookstores, many of them tucked away from busy streets inside buildings, have long offered a refuge and a window to a freer world for some mainland Chinese readers seeking ideas suppressed at home.

— KANIS LEUNG, Christian Science Monitor, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of suppressed

Verb

Kupor, head of the government’s chief human resources agency since July 2025, has publicly argued even jobs conducive to remote work can be impeded by working from home.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026
Kenya’s Red Cross said difficult terrain and a fire at the site of the crash impeded its search and recovery efforts.

— Alexandra Bacallao, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of impeded

Verb

Videos of the disaster showed people running before the floodwaters swallowed them up and washed out buildings and bridges.

— Shristi Kafle, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
In Tibet, the roaring mudslide that struck Wednesday engulfed a multistory port building and swallowed a bus parking lot at the land border crossing of Gyirong Port.

— Niranjan Shrestha, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of swallowed

Verb

One night earlier in the tour, a woman Usher had brought onstage rebuked him, which embarrassed him.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2026
This isn’t a hypercar to smash lap records around the Nürburgring, but nor will it be embarrassed by a Porsche 911 GT3 at a track day.

— Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 14 Aug. 2026