held back - Wordage.info - Free Thesaurus Tool for Word Discovery - Expanded Thesaurus, Reverse Dictionary Lookup

retreat collapse: (military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat; "the disorderly retreat of French troops"; (military) a bugle call signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset; (military) a signal to begin a withdrawal from a dangerous position; a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet; make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity; "We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him"; "He backed out of his earlier promise"; "The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns"; move away, as for privacy; "The Pope retreats to Castelgondolfo every summer"

bring about collapse: cause to move into the opposite direction; "they brought about the boat when they saw a storm approaching"

slacken collapse: make slack as by lessening tension or firmness; become looser or slack; "the rope slackened"

pet collapse: a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement; a fit of petulance or sulkiness (especially at what is felt to be a slight); stroke or caress in an erotic manner, as during lovemaking; stroke or caress gently; "pet the lamb"

conserve collapse: fruit preserved by cooking with sugar; preserve with sugar; "Mom always conserved the strawberries we grew in the backyard"; use cautiously and frugally; "I try to economize my spare time"; "conserve your energy for the ascent to the summit"; keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction; "We preserve these archeological findings"; "The old lady could not keep up the building"; "children must be taught to conserve our national heritage"; "The museum curator conserved the ancient manuscripts"; keep constant through physical or chemical reactions or evolutionary change; "Energy is conserved in this process"

rebuff collapse: a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval); an instance of driving away or warding off; reject outright and bluntly; "She snubbed his proposal"

chair collapse: a seat for one person, with a support for the back; "he put his coat over the back of the chair and sat down"; act or preside as chair, as of an academic department in a university; "She chaired the department for many years"

in unison collapse: at the same pitch; "they sang in unison"; speaking or singing at the same time; simultaneously; "they shouted `Yes!' in unison"; "they responded in chorus to the teacher's questions"; in complete agreement; "my feelings about the matter are in unison with yours"

recruit collapse: any new member or supporter (as in the armed forces); a recently enlisted soldier; cause to assemble or enlist in the military; "raise an army"; "recruit new soldiers"; seek to employ; "The lab director recruited an able crew of assistants"

renovate collapse: restore to a previous or better condition; "They renovated the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel"

worsen collapse: grow worse; "Conditions in the slum worsened"; make worse; "This drug aggravates the pain"

seesaw collapse: a plaything consisting of a board balanced on a fulcrum; the board is ridden up and down by children at either end; move up and down as if on a seesaw

intervene collapse: occur between other event or between certain points of time; "the war intervened between the birth of her two children"; get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force; "Why did the U.S. not intervene earlier in WW II?"; be placed or located between other things or extend between spaces and events; "This interludes intervenes between the two movements"; "Eight days intervened"

retain collapse: keep in one's mind; "I cannot retain so much information"; secure and keep for possible future use or application; "The landlord retained the security deposit"; "I reserve the right to disagree"; allow to remain in a place or position; "We cannot continue several servants any longer"; "She retains a lawyer"; "The family's fortune waned and they could not keep their household staff"; "Our grant has run out and we cannot keep you on"; "We kept the work going as long as we could"; hold within; "This soil retains water"; "I retain this drug for a long time"

bandy collapse: have legs that curve outward at the knees; discuss lightly; "We bandied around these difficult questions"; exchange blows; toss or strike a ball back and forth

bolster collapse: a pillow that is often put across a bed underneath the regular pillows; support and strengthen; "bolster morale"; prop up with a pillow or bolster

evacuate collapse: excrete or discharge from the body; empty completely; "evacuate the bottle"; create a vacuum in (a bulb, flask, reaction vessel); move out of an unsafe location into safety; "After the earthquake, residents were evacuated"; move people from their homes or country

echo collapse: the persistence of a sound after its source has stopped; a reply that repeats what has just been said; (Greek mythology) a nymph who was spurned by Narcissus and pined away until only her voice remained; call to mind; "His words echoed John F. Kennedy"

reimbursement collapse: compensation paid (to someone) for damages or losses or money already spent etc.; "he received reimbursement for his travel expenses"

back burner collapse: reduced priority; "dozens of cases were put on the back burner"

acknowledgment collapse: a statement acknowledging something or someone; "she must have seen him but she gave no sign of acknowledgment"; "the preface contained an acknowledgment of those who had helped her"

come round collapse: change one's position or opinion; "He came around to our point of view"

refuse collapse: show unwillingness towards; "he declined to join the group on a hike"; refuse to accept; "He refused my offer of hospitality"

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