Sample sentences for RETRACT - verbalworkout.com

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Definition

to take back; or to move back or in

in various senses, including:

to take back something previously said — such as a promise or opinion
to move back or in — such as an airplane's landing gear, or pulling your hand back after being burned
in surgery, the use of a medical instrument to draw skin or an organ back out of the way

Less commonly, in phonetics retract references changing the sound of a vowel by pulling the tongue back.

The cat retracted her claws.

retracted = pulled back (in this case, within it's paws)

She retracted her earlier statements after getting to know him better.
You will retract this assertion, will you not, Beauchamp?
Dumas, Alexandre -- The Count of Monte Cristo
It was a terrible thing to him to retract a word,
John Steinbeck -- The Red Pony

retract = take back something previously said

The monster let out an angry shriek and pulled back several feet, its spikes retracting into its body.
James Dashner -- The Maze Runner

retracting = pulling back

I then retracted as many statements as I could, claiming that I had lied about everything.
Dave Pelzer -- The Lost Boy

retracted = took back something previously said

He took out the old blade and laid it on the shelf and put in one of the new ones and screwed the handle back together and retracted the blade and put the cutter in his pocket.
Cormac McCarthy -- The Road

retracted = slid back

However, I must retract some of the things that I have said against them.
Woolf, Virginia -- The Voyage Out
He declared that he would never retract one word, and that he was quite prepared to lose all his pupils.
Cather, Willa -- My Antonia
Nor can he now retract what then he said;
Sophocles -- Oedipus The King
''Nay,'' said the Friar, ''if thou dost retract vows made in favour of holy Church, thou must do penance.
Scott, Walter -- Ivanhoe
I will retract it, therefore, by a sacrifice, — I will go to monsieur le cardinal.
Dumas, Alexandre -- Ten Years Later
Couldn't he stop and retract it all .
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor -- Crime And Punishment
" exclaimed her brother, hastily, as if anxious to retract an error; "I said it then, and I say it now and so you will find it to be.
Cooper, James Fenimore -- The Prairie
But I don't retract a single word of what I have said on the subject of your health.
Collins, Wilkie -- Man And Wife
stepped up to Vinyard, and requested him to retract, which he refused to do, repeating the offensive words.
Dickens, Charles -- American Notes for General Circulation
In all probability, this time his master would not retract.
Dumas, Alexandre -- The Three Musketeers
I retract my error," cried Julia; "Charles must be brave, or he never could have acted so coolly, and so well.
Cooper, James Fenimore -- Imagination and Heart
Could I retract my word, and take upon myself the responsibility of compromising the future of my companions?
Verne, Jules -- 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
If you doubt, encourage her to retract her word, and you'll have an opportunity of judging
Bronte, Emily -- Wuthering Heights

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