withhold

[with-hohld, with-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR withhold ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), with·held, with·hold·ing.

to hold back; restrain or check.

to refrain from giving or granting: to withhold payment.

to collect (taxes) at the source of income.

to deduct (withholding tax) from an employee's salary or wages.

verb (used without object), with·held, with·hold·ing.

to hold back; refrain.

to deduct withholding tax.

Origin of withhold

First recorded in 1150–1200, withhold is from the Middle English word withholden. See with-, hold¹

Related formswith·hold·er, nounun·with·held, adjective

Synonyms for withhold

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR withhold ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 2. suppress, repress. See keep.

Antonyms for withhold

1, 2. advance.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for withheld

hidden, restrained, confidential, secret

Examples from the Web for withheld

Contemporary Examples of withheld

As for Snyderman and her three colleagues, whose names were also withheld, they will be flown home on a chartered aircraft.
NBC Cameraman Gets Ebola, News Crew to Be Quarantined
Lloyd Grove
October 3, 2014
But the charges are cover for cultural misunderstandings, sexual assaults, and withheld wages.
Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'?
Michael Schulson
March 29, 2014
He withheld the salaries of parliamentarians who refused to rubberstamp his laws, and lawyers who challenged him were disbarred.
Forget Kim Jong Un—China’s New Favorite Dictator Is Belarus’s Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Kapil Komireddi
January 28, 2014
Because more people are working at slightly higher wages, the volume of withheld income and payroll taxes is on the upswing.
The Deficit Excuse Is Fading Fast
Daniel Gross
January 10, 2014
The real names of Professor Zhang and Mr. Jiang have been withheld to protect their ongoing research agendas.
China Propagandizes Rape Of Nanjing Survivors
Brendon Hong
December 29, 2013

Historical Examples of withheld

It was withheld for some time, and had only been recently exhibited.
In the Heart of Vosges
Matilda Betham-Edwards
Another honour, of greater import, was withheld from the conquerors.
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Robert Southey
If it comes, he may bless God; but if it be withheld, he must calculate upon it.
Journal of a Residence at Bagdad
Anthony Groves
Where his fellow man had withheld, the filly had given her all and questioned not.
Garrison's Finish
W. B. M. Ferguson
They were listening, straining unconsciously to get the meaning he withheld from them.
Rim o' the World
B. M. Bower

British Dictionary definitions for withheld

withhold

verb -holds, -holding or -held

(tr) to keep back; refrain from givinghe withheld his permission

(tr) to hold back; restrain

(tr) to deduct (taxes, etc) from a salary or wages

(intr usually foll by from) to refrain or forbear

Derived Formswithholder, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for withheld

withhold

c.1200, from with- "back, away" (see with) + holden "to hold" (see hold (v.)); probably a loan-translation of Latin retinere "to withhold." Related: Withheld; withholding. Past participle form withholden was still used 19c.