verb. hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of Arrest the downward trend|Check the growth of communism in South East Asia|Contain the rebel movement|Turn back the tide of communism |
verb. refrain from doing she forbore a snicker |
verb. wait before acting the scientists held off announcing their results until they repeated the experiment |
verb. secure and keep for possible future use or application The landlord retained the security deposit|I reserve the right to disagree |
verb. hold back; keep from being perceived by others She conceals her anger well |
verb. prevent the action or expression of hold back your anger|keep your cool|she struggled to restrain her impatience at the delays |
