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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Retract \Re*tract"\, verb (used without an object)
1. To draw back; to draw up; as, muscles retract after amputation.
2. To take back what has been said; to withdraw a concession or a declaration.
She will, and she will not; she grants, denies, Consents, retracts, advances, and then files. --Granville.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Retract \Re*tract"\ (r[-e]*tr[=a]kt"), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Retracted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Retracting}.] [F. r['e]tracter, L. retractare, retractatum, to handle again, reconsider, retract, fr. retrahere, retractum, to draw back. See {Retreat}.]
1. To draw back; to draw up or shorten; as, the cat can retract its claws; to retract a muscle.
2. To withdraw; to recall; to disavow; to recant; to take back; as, to retract an accusation or an assertion.
I would as freely have retracted this charge of idolatry as I ever made it. --Bp. Stillingfleet.
3. To take back,, as a grant or favor previously bestowed; to revoke. [Obs.] --Woodward.
Syn: To recall; withdraw; rescind; revoke; unsay; disavow; recant; abjure; disown.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Retract \Re*tract"\, noun (Far.) The pricking of a horse's foot in nailing on a shoe.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
retract
verb
1: formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs" [syn: {abjure}, {recant}, {forswear}, {resile}]
2: pull away from a source of disgust or fear [syn: {shrink back}]
3: use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound or an organ) [syn: {pull back}, {draw back}]
4: pull inward or towards a center; "The pilot drew in the landing gear"; "The cat retracted his claws" [syn: {draw in}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
111 Moby Thesaurus words for "retract": abandon, abjure, abolish, abrogate, annul, assert the contrary, back, back down, back out, backwater, belie, cancel, cede, climb down, contest, contradict, contravene, controvert, counter, countermand, counterorder, crawfish out, cringe, cross, deny, disaffirm, disallow, disannul, disavow, disclaim, disgorge, disown, dispense with, dispose of, disprove, dispute, do away with, do without, draw back, draw in, drop, duck, dump, eat crow, eat humble pie, fall back, flinch, forgo, forswear, gainsay, get along without, get rid of, give away, give up, have done with, impugn, invalidate, join issue upon, kiss good-bye, make a sacrifice, make void, not accept, not admit, nullify, oppose, override, overrule, palinode, part with, pull back, pull in, pull out, quitclaim, recall, recant, refuse to admit, refute, relinquish, render up, renege, renounce, repeal, repudiate, rescind, resign, retreat, retrocede, retrograde, reverse, revoke, sacrifice, set aside, shrink, shy, spare, surrender, suspend, swallow, swear off, take, take back, take issue with, throw up, unsay, vacate, void, waive, wince, withdraw, write off, yield
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