Meaning & use
hold out against opposition
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Meaning
phraseidiom
to continue to resist or refuse to give in when people or forces try to make you stop or change
Grammar: Used without an object: the person or group you resist comes after 'against'.
Patterns
- hold out against opposition
- hold out against someone
- hold out against pressure
The small community held out against opposition from the developers for over a year.
Despite the criticism, she held out against opposition and kept her original plan.
The workers held out against opposition from management and won a small pay increase.
Common combinations
- hold out against pressure
- The team held out against pressure from sponsors and refused to change the design.
- hold out against the government
- The protesters held out against the government for weeks.
- hold out against demands
- He held out against their demands until they offered more money.
- hold out for something better
- She decided to hold out for a better offer rather than accept the first one.
Synonyms and how they differ
- resist
- A more general verb; it does not always suggest continuing for a long time, while 'hold out against' often does.
- stand firm
- Focuses on not changing your position; it can be used without mentioning an opponent, unlike this phrase.
- withstand
- Often used for physical forces or pressure rather than people in a conflict.
Opposites
Commonly confused: hold out against opposition or hold out?
hold out against opposition vs hold out
On its own, 'hold out' can mean to last or survive, or to refuse to accept something less; 'hold out against' specifically means to resist an opponent.
Practice
The rebels ______ against opposition for months before finally surrendering.
Choose one answer.
'Held out against' means resisted for a long time. 'Held up' means delayed or robbed, 'held on' means waited or gripped, and 'held back' means prevented or hesitated, so none of those fits the meaning of resisting an opponent.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hold out against opposition”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.