Word.ws English Dictionary

retractation

retractation noun: retraction (of something previously said).

Noun

retractation (countable and uncountable, plural retractations)

  1. (archaic) retraction (of something previously said)
    • […] but while they own what G. Fox hath written, and that he writ it with a perfect spirit: I say untill they do make some Recantation or Retractation: or shew the Reasons why they doe not, H. Norton who keeps more plainly to his Principles is to windward of them, and the Foxians do but strip...1872, Publications of the Narragansett Club: George Fox digg'd out of his burrowes, page 257
    • When he met Strether's eye on such occasions he looked guilty and furtive, fell the next minute into some attitude of retractation.1903 September 28, Henry James, The Ambassadors, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC

Forms of retractation

pluralretractations

Origin of retractation

Compare French rétractation, Latin retractatio (“a revision, reconsideration”).

Questions about retractation

What does retractation mean?
Retractation means retraction (of something previously said).
What part of speech is retractation?
Retractation is a noun.
What is the plural of retractation?
The plural of retractation is retractations.

Words near retractation in the dictionary

  1. retractably
  2. retractate
  3. retractated
  4. retractates
  5. retractating
  6. retractation
  7. retractations
  8. retracted
  9. retracted tongue root
  10. retracted tongue roots
  11. retracter

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: retractation (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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