withdrawal
Americannoun
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Also withdrawment. the act or condition of withdrawing.
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Pharmacology. the act or process of ceasing to use an addictive drug.
noun
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an act or process of withdrawing; retreat, removal, or detachment
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the period a drug addict goes through following abrupt termination in the use of narcotics, usually characterized by physical and mental symptoms ( withdrawal symptoms )
Etymology
Origin of withdrawal
Explanation
Withdrawal is when you take something out, like making a withdrawal from your bank account. When you announced you were no longer running for president, your withdrawal from the race disappointed your many supporters. Withdrawal is also used to describe the painful experience that results when you stop taking an addictive drug (when you "take it out" of your system). The state of being emotionally detached is called withdrawal. If a country terminates an agreement like a treaty, that's a withdrawal too. Remember that withdrawal ends in "wal" and not just "wl."
Vocabulary lists containing withdrawal
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Withdrawal requests from private funds accelerated in the current quarter, leading some like HPS Corporate Lending to limit withdrawals to stated 5% quarterly caps.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
Withdrawal from the important base in southern Syria can be seen as a sign of American success, but it is also a test for the regime of Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
However, there are other ways the UK's finances remained connected with the EU, separate from the EU Budget and the Withdrawal Agreement.
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2025
The process, known as the democratic consent motion, was first agreed between the UK and EU in the 2020 Withdrawal Agreement to give local politicians a say in the new post-Brexit trading rules.
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2024
By the time the ice was advancing again, the Hainish Withdrawal was complete and the Colonists were on their own, an experiment abandoned.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
