。
She appeared to be trying to hold back her tears.
Literal
She [topic-は] tears [object-を] hold-back was-trying [like-ように] appeared.
A layered construction: 抑えようとしている (trying to hold back, volitional + とする + ている) + ように見えた ('appeared as if'). Multiple grammar patterns stack to create 'she appeared to be in the process of trying to suppress tears' — natural in Japanese but requiring careful parsing.