What is the difference between retract and retreat?
retract | retreat |
To pull back inside.
(ambitransitive) To draw back; to draw up.
To take back or withdraw something one has said.
* Bishop Stillingfleet
* Granville
To take back, as a grant or favour previously bestowed; to revoke.
The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
* Shakespeare
The act of reversing direction and receding from a forward position.
A peaceful, quiet place affording privacy or security.
* L'Estrange
* Dryden
A period of retirement, seclusion, or solitude.
A period of meditation, prayer or study.
Withdrawal by military force from a dangerous position or from enemy attack.
A signal for a military withdrawal.
A bugle call or drumbeat signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset, as on a military base.
A military ceremony to lower the flag.
(chess) The move of a piece from a threatened position.
As verbs the difference between retract and retreat
is that retract is to pull back inside while retreat is to withdraw military forces.As a noun retreat is
the act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.retract
English
Verb
(en verb)- An airplane retracts its wheels for flight.
- Muscles retract after amputation.
- A cat can retract its claws.
- I retract all the accusations I made about the senator and sincerely hope he won't sue me.
- I would as freely have retracted this charge of idolatry as I ever made it.
- She will, and she will not; she grants, denies, / Consents, retracts , advances, and then flies.
- (Woodward)
Synonyms
* take back * withcall * withdrawSee also
* unsay * unspeakretreat
English
Noun
(en noun)- In a retreat he outruns any lackey.
- He built his son a house of pleasure, and spared no cost to make a delicious retreat .
- That pleasing shade they sought, a soft retreat / From sudden April showers, a shelter from the heat.
