Hupostello describes holding back from open declaration or drawing back in response to pressure.

The attested uses show holding back from declaring something openly in Acts 20:20 and Acts 20:27, and drawing back or withdrawing in Galatians 2:12 and Hebrews 10:38.

1. Holding back from open declaration · dominant

   In Acts 20:20 and Acts 20:27, the first-person aorist middle form occurs in negative statements about not withholding declaration and teaching. In Acts 20:20 the APB renders the clause "I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable," and in Acts 20:27 it renders "I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole plan of God."

   Acts 20:20Acts 20:27
2. Drawing back in fear or failed perseverance · common

   In Galatians 2:12, the imperfect active form describes a continuing move away after certain men arrived; the APB renders that he "drew back and separated himself." In Hebrews 10:38, the aorist middle subjunctive stands in a conditional statement, rendered by the APB as "if he shrinks back."

   Galatians 2:12Hebrews 10:38

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term as "shrink from declaring" in Acts 20:20 and Acts 20:27, "drew back" in Galatians 2:12, and "shrinks back" in Hebrews 10:38. These are verse-level renderings rather than definitions.