retract

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To pull (something) back or back inside.
2. (specifically, transitive) To pull (something) back or back inside.
3. (rare, transitive) To avert (one's eyes or a gaze).
4. (transitive) To pronounce (a sound, especially a vowel) farther to the back of the vocal tract.
5. (obsolete, transitive) To hold back (something); to restrain.
6. (intransitive) To draw back; to draw up; to withdraw.

Noun

1. (obsolete) An act of retracting or withdrawing (a mistake, a statement, etc.); a retraction.
2. (obsolete) A pulling back, especially (military) of an army or military troops; a pull-back, a retreat; also, a signal for this to be done.
3. (obsolete) A subgroup of a given group such that there is a surjective endomorphism from the ambient group to the subgroup which is constant on the subgroup; in this case the subgroup is a retract of the ambient group. In symbols: H in G is a retract of G if there exists a surjective homomorphism σ from G to H with σ|_H= operatorname id.
4. (obsolete) The target of a retraction.
5. (obsolete) Synonym of retreat (“an act of accidentally injuring a horse's foot by incorrectly nailing it during shoeing”).

Opposite of

extend, protrude

Synonyms

withdraw

pull back

recant

draw in

abjure

draw back

recall

revoke

retreat

deny

take back

forswear

cancel

retire

repeal

countermand

rescind

shorten

pull out

pull in

resile

go back on

annul

belie

disaffirm

draw

draw out

pull

recede

renege

shrink

backpedal

move back

shrink back

get out

drop

haul

huddle

invalidate

lead

nullify

overrule

overturn

schismatize

pull away

draw off

drag

disown

pull up

quash

Translations

rétracter

zurückziehen

αποσύρω

ανακαλώ

retractar

retirer

retractarse

zurückholen

ritrattare

retraer

escamoter

einziehen

🧵

se rétracter

abjurer

zurücknehmen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹɪˈtɹækt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: retracten

Cognate with French: rétracter

In summary

From Late Middle English retracten, retract (“to absorb, draw in”), from Latin retractus (“withdrawn”), the perfect passive participle of Latin retrahō (“to draw or pull back, withdraw; to bring back; to compel to turn back; to recall; to get back, recover; to hold back, restrain, withhold; to remove, take away; to bring to light again; (Late Latin) to delay”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + trahō (“to drag, pull; to extract, withdraw”). Doublet of retreat.