Hold back and Loose

Opposite meaning terms

Hold back verb - To refrain from openly showing or uttering.

Usage example: held back her tears until she was alone

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Loose is an antonym for hold back.

Loose verb - To find emotional release for.

Usage example: do not loose your pent-up frustrations on the next person who happens by

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Hold back is an antonym for loose.

Nearby Words: loosen, looseness, loosed, loosely

Most of the Gaang fit this, being a team of heroic True Companions who seldom hold back when all hell breaks loose.

Source: Good Is Not Soft

Cite this Source

Loose and Hold back. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold_back/loose

Hold back & Loose. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold_back/loose>.

Loose or Hold back. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold_back/loose.

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