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withhold

/wɪðˈhoʊld//wɪðˈhəʊld/·verb
to hold back and refuse to give or release something
Fig. 1 — Two of them caught in the rain, and the one umbrella between them.
01Definition

To withhold is to hold back — to keep something you could give or release, and choose not to. You can withhold information, payment, consent, or judgment. From 'with-' (back, away) plus 'hold', the thing is neither destroyed nor used up; it is deliberately kept behind a line. To withhold judgment is the careful, academic move of refusing to decide until the evidence is in, while to suppress is to push something down by force — withholding is quieter, a hand that simply does not open.

02In use
  • iA good researcher will withhold judgment until there is enough evidence to discern a real pattern.
  • iiWorkers gathered to implore the company not to withhold final payment until the work was finished.
  • iiiTo withhold water is to deprive a crop of the one thing it cannot make for itself.
03Collocations
  • withhold information
  • withhold judgment
  • withhold consent
  • withhold payment

Family withholding (noun)

04Relations

=hold back, retain, suppress, keep back, reserve

≠release, grant, disclose

05Compared
PairThe difference
withhold vs denyspeak a clear no to a request → deny; quietly keep back what is owed → withhold (only deny can also mean 'say it isn't true').
withhold vs withdrawtake back something already given or in place → withdraw; keep back something never released → withhold.
06TOEFL & IELTS

Very useful for IELTS and TOEFL academic writing, above all the phrase 'withhold judgment'. It is irregular: withhold–withheld–withheld. Pair it with 'information', 'consent' and 'payment'. Keep it separate from suppress (to crush or hide by force) and deprive (to keep a needy party from essentials) — to withhold is simply to decline to release.

07Asked
What is the difference between withhold and withdraw?
Direction of the action: withhold keeps a thing behind the line and never releases it, while withdraw pulls back something already given or out there. The full side-by-side, with both animated scenes, is on the withdraw vs withhold page linked in the 'Compared' list above.
What does withhold mean?
To hold back — to keep something you could give or release, and choose not to. The thing is neither destroyed nor used up; it is deliberately kept behind a line. The scene above is the whole gesture: one umbrella, drawn back over its holder alone, the shelter never spent or handed away, only pulled a few inches to one side and kept while the other person is left in the rain.
What does 'withhold judgment' mean?
To refuse to decide until enough evidence is in — the careful, academic move of holding your verdict back rather than rushing to it. It is a deliberate discipline, not indecision: you could form an opinion, but you choose to wait. The phrase is prized in critical writing and reasoning, where 'withholding judgment' signals exactly the patience that separates analysis from a snap reaction.
What is the difference between withhold and suppress?
Force. To withhold is quiet — a hand that simply does not open, declining to release what it holds. To suppress is forceful — pushing something down, crushing or hiding it. You withhold information by not sharing it; you suppress information by actively stopping it from getting out. Withholding is passive restraint; suppression is active pressure. One keeps back; the other holds down.
How do you spell and conjugate withhold?
Two h's — with + hold, so withhold, not 'withold'. The double h looks odd but is correct: the prefix ends in a consonant and the root starts with h. It is irregular, following hold: withhold, withheld, withheld ('the payment was withheld'). The noun is withholding. Pronounced with-HOHLD, stress on the second syllable, the soft th of 'this'.