Word.ws English Dictionary

retracted

retracted is the simple past and past participle of retract.

Adjective

retracted

  1. Withdrawn back and in, as the claws of a cat.
  2. Pronounced further back in the vocal tract.
    • My guess is that he substitutes a schwa sound for the retracted r in final position.1987, Rex Burns, Suicide Season, Viking, →ISBN, page 109
    Synonyms:
    backed
    Antonyms:
    advanced, fronted
  3. Couped bendwise: cut off by a line diagonal to the main direction.
    • Pale, retracted, that is, shortened. It is a French term, used when pales are borne cut off, either pendent from the chief, or issuant from the base, which should be particularly noticed in the blazon.1828, William Berry, Encyclopaedia Heraldica: Or, Complete Dictionary of Heraldry, page 1
    • RETRACTED, said of charges when borne one shorter than another; as, three pales or palets issuant from the chief, retracted, that is, cut off bend ways, and hanging of different lengths.1830, Thomas Robson (engraver.), The British herald, or Cabinet of armorial bearings of the nobility & gentry of Great Britain & Ireland

Meaning of retract

Verb

retract (third-person singular simple present retracts, present participle retracting, simple past and past participle retracted)

  1. (transitive) To pull (something) back or back inside.
    • An airplane retracts its wheels for flight.
    Synonyms:
    pull back
    1. (specifically, transitive) To draw (an extended body part) back into the body.
      • A cat can retract its claws.
  2. (rare, transitive) To avert (one's eyes or a gaze).
  3. (transitive) To pronounce (a sound, especially a vowel) farther to the back of the vocal tract.
  4. (obsolete, transitive) To hold back (something); to restrain.
  5. (intransitive) To draw back; to draw up; to withdraw.
    • The bus was stuck at the stop as its wheelchair ramp wouldn’t retract after use.

See all 18 meanings of retract

Synonyms of retracted

Antonyms

Words formed from retracted

Phrases with retracted

Questions about retracted

What does retracted mean?
Retracted means withdrawn back and in, as the claws of a cat.
What is retracted the simple past and past participle of?
Retracted is the simple past and past participle of retract.
What part of speech is retracted?
Retracted is an adjective.

Words near retracted in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: retracted (page history and authors); retract (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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Cite this entry: “retracted.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retracted. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.