How to Say "holding back" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “holding back” is “retención” — B1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
English → SpanishB1
nounB1
physical restraint
Examples
Beber mucha agua ayuda a evitar la retención de líquidos.
Drinking a lot of water helps avoid fluid retention.
El examen mide tu capacidad de retención de datos.
The exam measures your ability to retain data.
La retención de la mercancía en la aduana duró dos días.
The holding of the goods at customs lasted two days.
Identifying Gender
Most Spanish words ending in '-ción' are feminine. You should always use 'la' or 'una' with this word.
Retention vs. Memory
Mistake: “Tengo una mala retención.”
Correction: Tengo mala memoria (usually) or Mi capacidad de retención es baja.
Related Translations
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