Meaning & use
Retreating
Last updated
Withdrawing from a place or position, especially to escape danger, difficulty, or defeat.
See it in a sentence
The soldiers were retreating under heavy fire toward the river.
She found herself retreating from the conversation whenever it turned confrontational.
A note on using this word
From Latin retrahere, 'to draw back,' the same root behind 'retract.'
Words with a similar meaning
withdrawingretiring
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
advancing
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