All 4 Uses of

recede
in
Misery, by Stephen King

These things all came at widely spaced intervals, but then as the pain itself began not to recede but to erode (as that Revere Beach piling must itself have eroded, he thought, because nothing is forever, although the child he had been would have scoffed at such heresy), outside things began to impinge more rapidly until the objective world, with all its freight of memory, experience, and prejudice, had pretty much re-established itself.†
Chpt 1

recede = to move away or diminish (become less)

Now the bees covered her in a thick and moving blanket; her eyes, open but unseeing, seemed to be receding into a living cave of crawling, stumbling, droning bees.†
Chpt 3

receding = moving away or diminishing (become less)

His stints at the typewriter grew gradually longer as the pain slowly receded and some of his endurance returned ....but ultimately he wasn't able to write fast enough to satisfy her demands.†
Chpt 3

receded = move away or diminished (became less)

He supposed it was the receding coast of Africa.†
Chpt 3 *

receding = moving away or diminishing (become less)

Definition:

to move away or diminish (become less)

The exact meaning of recede depends upon its context. For example:

"We can't move back in until the floodwaters recede." -- diminish and move away
"Her fear receded." -- diminished
"The waves first advance and then recede." -- move away
"The news story receded into the background as it was replaced by new stories." -- received diminished attention
"a receding hairline" -- diminished hair (each year the line where hair stops growing is higher on the forehead)
"She has a receding chin." -- sloping back (as contrasted to sticking out)