Is "hold out a promise" the same meaning as "make a promise"? Or did I misunderstand them? I found definitions for "make a promise", but couldn't find definitions for "hold out a promise".
Learn English – “Hold Out Promise” vs “Make a Promise”
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Best Answer
Jon is correct, and I am such a beginner that I hesitate to horn in here, and I do so only to make certain that the answer is absolutely clear. Please pardon the intrusion.
It's a bit confusing because there are two verbs used, but neither is used as they normally are. "Make" a promise? "Hold" out a promise?
To make a promise is a common expression meaning that you have vowed to another person that you will follow through on certain matters, such as your intent to marry her, or clean the front yard, or go grocery shopping. It is a direct declaration between two or more people.
On the other hand, to hold out a promise refers to a situation that appears to point to a particular conclusion, that a promise will end in a certain way. The three-week-old milk bottles held the promise of containing rotten milk, so we threw them away.