Meaning & use
Bating
Last updated
Moderating, restraining, or holding back, especially one's breath in suspense.
See it in a sentence
The audience sat bating their breath as the tightrope walker took each step.
He read the letter with bating anticipation.
A note on using this word
Bating is the present participle of the archaic verb 'bate,' a shortened form of 'abate'; it survives almost exclusively in the fixed phrase 'with bated breath.'
Words with a similar meaning
restrainingmoderating
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
releasing
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