Meaning of RETRACT
| Pronunciation: | | ri'trakt
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 WordNet Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | |
- [v] formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs"
- [v] pull inward or towards a center; "The pilot drew in the landing gear"; "The cat retracted his claws"
- [v] use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound or an organ)
- [v] shrink back, as in fear
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| | Synonyms: | | abjure, draw back, draw in, forswear, pull back, recant, resile, shrink back |
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| | See Also: | | attract, cringe, draw, flinch, funk, introvert, invaginate, pull, pull in, quail, recoil, renounce, repudiate, shrink, squinch, wince | |
| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | |
\Re*tract"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Retracted}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Retracting}.] [F. r['e]tracter, L. retractare,
retractatum, to handle again, reconsider, retract, fr.
retrahere, retractum, to draw back. See {Retreat}.]
1. To draw back; to draw up or shorten; as, the cat can
retract its claws; to retract a muscle.
2. Ti withdraw; to recall; to disavow; to recant; to take
back; as, to retract an accusation or an assertion.
I would as freely have retracted this charge of
idolatry as I ever made it. --Bp.
Stillingfleet.
3. To take back,, as a grant or favor previously bestowed; to
revoke. [Obs.] --Woodward.
Syn: To recal; withdraw; rescind; revoke; unsay; disavow;
recant; abjure; disown.
\Re*tract"\, v. i.
1. To draw back; to draw up; as, muscles retract after
amputation.
2. To take back what has been said; to withdraw a concession
or a declaration.
She will, and she will not; she grants, denies,
Consents, retracts, advances, and then files.
--Granville.
\Re*tract"\, n. (Far.)
The pricking of a horse's foot in nailing on a shoe.
\Re*tract"\, n.
Retreat. [Obs.] --Bacon.
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