WITHHOLD (withheld)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: withheld   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does withhold mean? 

• WITHHOLD (verb)
  The verb WITHHOLD has 2 senses:

1. hold back; refuse to hand over or share

2. retain and refrain from disbursing; of payments

  Familiarity information: WITHHOLD used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WITHHOLD (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they withhold    ... he / she / it withholds   
Past simple: withheld   
Past participle: withheld   
-ing form: withholding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hold back; refuse to hand over or share

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

keep back; withhold

Context example:

The father is withholding the allowance until the son cleans his room

Hypernyms (to "withhold" is one way to...):

deny; refuse (refuse to let have)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withhold"):

block; freeze; immobilise; immobilize (prohibit the conversion or use of (assets))

keep to oneself (withhold information)

deny (refuse to grant, as of a petition or request)

reserve (hold back or set aside, especially for future use or contingency)

immobilise; immobilize (hold as reserve or withdraw from circulation; of capital)

deprive (keep from having, keeping, or obtaining)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sentence example:

They withhold the money

Derivation:

withholder (a person who restrains or checks or holds back)

withholder (a person who refrains from granting)

withholding (the act of holding back or keeping within your possession or control)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Retain and refrain from disbursing; of payments

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

deduct; recoup; withhold

Context example:

My employer is withholding taxes

Hypernyms (to "withhold" is one way to...):

hold on; keep (retain possession of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withhold"):

dock (deduct from someone's wages)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sentence example:

They withhold the money

Derivation:

withholder (a person who refrains from granting)

withholding (the act of deducting from an employee's salary)

withholding (income tax withheld from employees' wages and paid directly to the government by the employer)

 Context examples 

I have told you now the whole truth, and if I withheld it from the police it is because I did not realize then the danger in which my dear friend stood.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Thorpe would have darted after her, but Morland withheld him.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

You have withheld the advantages which you must know to have been designed for him.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

“But you wrong me by withholding it,” I objected.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The man struck the shrewd blow he had purposely withheld for so long, and Buck crumpled up and went down, knocked utterly senseless.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He took the hand which I dared not withhold, and having given it a damp squeeze, referred to his pale-faced watch.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

At last Grey Beaver withheld his hand.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

When you talk with your doctor, is it ethical for her to withhold information from you or your family?

(Medical Ethics, NIH)

A length of time beyond a specified date during which rules or penalties are withheld.

(Grace Period, NCI Thesaurus)

He had almost as much as declared his conviction of her criminality last night: what mysterious cause withheld him from accusing her?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)