Withhold — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

hold back; refuse to hand over or share

retain and refrain from disbursing; of payments

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/wɪðhˈoʊld/

🇬🇧British English

/wɪðhˈəʊld/

🇮🇳Indian English

/wɪðhˈəʊld/

2 syllables Say it as /wɪðhˈoʊld/.

Examples

The father is withholding the allowance until the son cleans his room
My employer is withholding taxes

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

deduct keep back recoup

Parts of Speech

verb	hold back; refuse to hand over or share “The father is withholding the allowance until the son cleans his room”
verb	retain and refrain from disbursing; of payments “My employer is withholding taxes”

Word Forms

withholder	noun	a person who refrains from granting
withholding	noun	the act of holding back or keeping within your possession or control
deductible	adjective	acceptable as a deduction (especially as a tax deduction)

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

zurückhalten

zurückhalten; die Übergabe oder Weitergabe verweigern

🇫🇷French

retenir

retenir; refuser de céder ou de partager

🇪🇸Spanish

retener

contener; negarse a entregar o compartir

🇮🇹Italian

trattenere

trattenere; rifiutarsi di consegnare o condividere

🇳🇱Dutch

inhouden

tegenhouden; weigeren te overhandigen of te delen

🇵🇹Portuguese

reter

segure-se; recusar-se a entregar ou compartilhar

🇷🇺Russian

удерживать

сдерживаться; отказаться передать или поделиться

India

🇮🇳Hindi

रोक

रोकना; सौंपने या साझा करने से इंकार करना

🇧🇩Bengali

আটকে রাখা

আটকে রাখা হস্তান্তর বা ভাগ করতে অস্বীকার

🇮🇳Tamil

நிறுத்து

தடுத்து நிறுத்து; ஒப்படைக்க அல்லது பகிர்ந்து கொள்ள மறுக்கிறது

🇮🇳Telugu

నిలుపుదల

తిరిగి పట్టుకోండి; అప్పగించడానికి లేదా పంచుకోవడానికి నిరాకరించండి

🇮🇳Marathi

रोखणे

मागे धरा सुपूर्द करण्यास किंवा सामायिक करण्यास नकार द्या

🇮🇳Gujarati

રોકવું

પાછળ રાખો સોંપવા અથવા શેર કરવાનો ઇનકાર કરો

🇮🇳Kannada

ತಡೆಹಿಡಿಯಿರಿ

ತಡೆಹಿಡಿಯಿರಿ; ಹಸ್ತಾಂತರಿಸಲು ಅಥವಾ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ನಿರಾಕರಿಸಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

തടഞ്ഞുവയ്ക്കുക

പിടിച്ചുനിൽക്കുക; കൈമാറാനോ പങ്കിടാനോ വിസമ്മതിക്കുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਰੋਕੋ

ਵਾਪਸ ਰੱਖੋ; ਸੌਂਪਣ ਜਾਂ ਸਾਂਝਾ ਕਰਨ ਤੋਂ ਇਨਕਾਰ ਕਰੋ

🇵🇰Urdu

روکنا

واپس رکھو حوالے کرنے یا بانٹنے سے انکار کریں۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

扣压

憋;拒绝移交或分享

🇯🇵Japanese

差し控える

遠慮してください。譲渡や共有を拒否する

🇰🇷Korean

억누르다

참아라; 양도 또는 공유를 거부

🇻🇳Vietnamese

giữ lại

giữ lại; từ chối bàn giao hoặc chia sẻ

🇹🇭Thai

ระงับ

ถือกลับ; ปฏิเสธที่จะส่งมอบหรือแบ่งปัน

🇮🇩Indonesian

menahan

menahan; menolak untuk menyerahkan atau berbagi

🇵🇭Filipino

pigilin

magpigil; tumangging ibigay o ibahagi

🇲🇾Malay

menahan

menahan diri; enggan menyerahkan atau berkongsi

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

حجب

التراجع؛ رفض التسليم أو المشاركة

🇮🇷Persian

خودداری کنید

عقب نگه داشتن از تحویل دادن یا به اشتراک گذاشتن خودداری کنید

🇹🇷Turkish

alıkoymak

geri çekilin; teslim etmeyi veya paylaşmayı reddetmek

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְנַכּוֹת

לִבלוֹם; לסרב למסור או לשתף

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'withhold'?

The primary meaning of 'withhold' is 'hold back; refuse to hand over or share'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'withhold' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'withhold' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'withhold' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'withhold' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'withhold' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'withhold' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'withhold' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'withhold' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'withhold' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'withhold' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted