hold firm

English

Verb

hold firm (third-person singular simple present holds firm, present participle holding firm, simple past and past participle held firm)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive, or transitive with to) to keep to a conviction, practice, etc., unwaveringly

   Synonyms: hold one's ground, stand one's ground

   • 1998 January, David Foster Wallace, “The Depressed Person”, in Harpers Magazine, page 63:

     .... the depressed person's emotional agony had so completely overwhelmed her... that whenever a member of her Support System finally said that she was dreadfully sorry but she absolutely had to get off the telephone, the primal instinct for sheer emotional survival now drove the depressed person to... beg shamelessly for two or even just one more minute of the friend's time and attention, and - if the "supportive friend" held firm and terminated the conversation - to spend now hardly any time listening dully to the dial tone....

See also

• hold tight
• stand firm