Hold back and Help

Opposite meaning terms

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

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Help is an antonym for hold back.

Help verb - To provide (someone) with what is useful or necessary to achieve an end.

Usage example: offered to help her widowed father when he moved into an apartment

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Hold back is an antonym for help.

Nearby Words: helpful, helped, helpless, helper, helping

Cite this Source

Help and Hold back. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold_back/help

Hold back & Help. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold_back/help>.

Help or Hold back. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold_back/help.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hold back" and "help" have occurred on timeline