Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb retract

4 senses of retract

Sense 1
abjure, recant, forswear, retract, resile -- (formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs")
       => disown, renounce, repudiate -- (cast off; "She renounced her husband"; "The parents repudiated their son")

Sense 2
shrink back, retract -- (pull away from a source of disgust or fear)
       => flinch, squinch, funk, cringe, shrink, wince, recoil, quail -- (draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf")

Sense 3
retract, pull back, draw back -- (use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound or an organ))
       => pull -- (apply force so as to cause motion towards the source of the motion; "Pull the rope"; "Pull the handle towards you"; "pull the string gently"; "pull the trigger of the gun"; "pull your knees towards your chin")

Sense 4
draw in, retract -- (pull inward or towards a center; "The pilot drew in the landing gear"; "The cat retracted his claws")
       => attract, pull, pull in, draw, draw in -- (direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes; "Her good looks attract the stares of many men"; "The ad pulled in many potential customers"; "This pianist pulls huge crowds"; "The store owner was happy that the ad drew in many new customers")