hold back

Questions about hold back

What is another word for hold back?

It depends which hold back you mean. In the sense “hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of”, the synonyms are check, turn back, arrest, stop, contain. Across all 6 senses there are 15 distinct synonyms, and they are not interchangeable with each other — this page lists them under the sense each one belongs to.

What is the opposite of hold back?

WordNet records no antonym for hold back. Antonymy in WordNet is a relation between specific word forms rather than between concepts, so it is recorded only where lexicographers judged the pairing direct. An absence here means none was recorded, not that none can be imagined.

Why are the synonyms for hold back split into groups?

Because hold back carries 6 recorded senses and each has its own set of substitutes. A single flat list would put words from unrelated meanings side by side with nothing to tell them apart, which is exactly how a writer picks the wrong one. The grouping comes from WordNet's synsets, not from an editorial judgement of ours.

Where do the synonyms for hold back come from?

From Princeton University's WordNet, a lexical database maintained by lexicographers since 1985. A synonym here means a word form that shares a synset with this word — a set of forms interchangeable in one recorded context. Nothing on this page is generated by a language model.

Other views of hold back

• Full entry for hold backAll 6 senses, with examples, usage labels, syllables and pronunciation.
• Rhymes for hold backWhether this word can be rhymed at all — it is not in the pronouncing dictionary.
• Thesaurus homeHow WordNet synsets work, and the collections built for synonym work.