hold back
phrasal verb with hold verb uk/həʊld/ us/hoʊld/ held | held
(常指因恐惧或不愿让事情变得更糟而)退缩,不做
to not do something, often because of fear or because you do not want to make a bad situation worse
He held back, terrified of going into the dark room. 他退缩了,不敢进入黑暗的房间。