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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stifled

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held back

Verb

But Austin Vance, CEO and cofounder of software development and consultant agency Focused Labs, countered in an email statement that this legislation actually would have stifled innovation from new players and entrenched the dominance of big companies including Google, Amazon and Meta.

Megan Poinski, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
The suit alleges that NASCAR and France operate without transparency, have stifled competition, and control the sport in ways that unfairly benefits them at the expense of team owners, drivers, sponsors, partners and fans.

Jessica Golden,Sara Eisen, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2024

Definition of stifled

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.