withhold

To choose not to give information, permission, or something else that someone wants.

• She withheld her name.
• The council has withheld permission for the new building.
• Why did you withhold those details from the police?

How to use it: withhold something from someone (They withheld important information from us.)

Similar words: hold back, keep back

Opposites: release

Common phrases: withhold information, withhold consent, withhold someone’s name

To keep an object instead of returning it to the person who owns it.

• The officer withheld my passport.
• They withheld her belongings until she paid the bill.
• The bank is withholding his card.

How to use it: withhold something from someone (The landlord withheld the keys from their owner.)

Similar words: retain, keep

Opposites: return

Common phrases: withhold someone’s passport, withhold someone’s property, withhold someone’s documents

To stop yourself from doing something.

• I shall withhold from speaking.
• He withheld from asking further questions.
• They chose to withhold from judging her actions.

How to use it: withhold from doing something (She withheld from commenting on the dispute.)

Similar words: refrain, abstain

Common phrases: withhold from speaking, withhold from asking