TOOK HOLD Synonyms: 18 Similar and Opposite Words

took hold

phrase

past tense of take hold

as in worked

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 took hold Determining conclusively whether life actually took hold will require bringing such rocks back to laboratories on Earth. — Ashwin R. Vasavada, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026 Luis and Mónica encouraged their daughters to play instruments, signing them up for piano lessons, which was going swimmingly until the holy grip of Rock Band fully took hold. — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 27 Aug. 2026 Perhaps Parton’s most countercultural act was her decision to work and not have children at a time when Reagan’s push for traditional family values took hold of the country. — Shima Oliaee, Time, 26 Aug. 2026 When no one came forward to claim Rowdy, and with the team already having considered a shop dog in the past, the idea of Rowdy living permanently at 23XI took hold. — Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 Cassyd wasn’t keen on the idea of his TV academy handing out awards, but the notion soon took hold and the first Emmys (with awards just for Los Angeles TV stations) took place in 1949. — Michael Schneider, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026 The heaviest fighting has subsided since a ceasefire in the more than two-year war took hold in October. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026 The tradition took hold in 1963, when a young musician later known as Screaming Lord Sutch stood in a by-election. — Reagan Yip, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026 As QAnon conspiracy theories took hold with people from around the world and tensions around policies to prevent the spread of Covid reached a boiling point, this previously unknown woman became the unlikely answer some in Canada were searching for. — Zander Sherman, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for took hold

took effect

Phrase

The bank denied his request in December 2021 and fired him two months later — weeks before a mandatory return-to-office policy took effect, according to the lawsuit.

— Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 25 Aug. 2026
Some of the biggest cuts to SNAP took effect soon after the bill’s passage.

— Cuyler Dunn, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026