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retraction

noun

Simple meaning

A disavowal or taking back of a previous assertion.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

reetrakshuhn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɹitˈɹækʃən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A disavowal or taking back of a previous assertion

  2. A statement printed or broadcast in a public forum which effects the withdrawal of an earlier assertion, and which concedes that the earlier assertion was in error.

  3. An act or instance of retracting.

  4. mathematics

    A continuous function from a topological space onto a subspace which is the identity on that subspace.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A disavowal or taking back of a previous assertion

Used this way, retraction is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use retraction

  • “The retraction of the landing gear.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

clot retractionlid retractioneyelid retractionnipple retractionskin retractionretraction pocketpublic retractionretraction syndrome

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.