Delay
Delay verb - Act later than planned, scheduled, or required.
Usage example: Don't delay your application to graduate school or else it won't be considered
Hold back is a synonym for delay in linger topic. In some cases you can use "Hold back" instead a verb "Delay", when it comes to topics like hold up.
Hold back
Hold back verb - To create difficulty for the work or activity of.
Usage example: the only thing holding Joe back from joining the swim team is lack of transportation
Mutual synonyms
Both terms in one sentence
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In Jade Empire, mooks will surround you in threatening ways, but they'll hold back and delay their attacks so you're almost never fighting more than one mook at a time.
Source: Mook Chivalry
Cite this Source
Hold back and Delay. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/delay/hold_back
Delay & Hold back. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/delay/hold_back>.
Hold back or Delay. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/delay/hold_back.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "delay" and "hold back" have occurred on timeline