Hold back and Press

Opposite meaning terms

Hold back verb - To create difficulty for the work or activity of.

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Press is an antonym for hold back.

Press verb - To try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action.

Usage example: pressed us to go with them to the school board meeting

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Hold back is an antonym for press.

Nearby Words: pressed, pressing, pressroom

Title Drop: When putting the full-court press on Emmy, George compares them to two trains briefly at the same station, saying "We can't change our course, any more than we can hold back the dawn."

Source: Film / Hold Back the Dawn
Squad Controls: The Ring Menu allows you to order your teammates to hold back, follow on you, or press forward.

Source: Video Game / Mass Effect
In the various Law & Order shows, the detectives will often hold back certain details of the crime from the press, so they can test the veracity of any account from a suspect or witness.

Source: I Never Said It Was Poison

Cite this Source

Press and Hold back. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold_back/press

Hold back & Press. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold_back/press>.

Press or Hold back. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hold_back/press.

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