retraction
Americannoun
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the act of retracting or the state of being retracted.
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withdrawal of a promise, statement, opinion, etc..
His retraction of the libel came too late.
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retractile power.
noun
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the act of retracting or state of being retracted
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the withdrawal of a statement, charge, etc
Usage
What is a retraction? Retraction is the withdrawal of a statement or promise, such as in a news story. When a news outlet gets facts wrong in a story, they publish a retraction that states what facts were wrong and what the correct facts are. In general, retraction is the act of pulling something back, such as the retraction of a payment (taking the payment back). Example: If this turns out to be true, we’ll have to issue a retraction about last week’s issue.
Other Word Forms
- nonretraction noun
Etymology
Origin of retraction
1350–1400; Middle English retraccioun < Latin retractiōn- (stem of retractiō ), equivalent to Latin retract ( us ) ( retract 1 ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
When you change your mind and take back something you said previously, that's a retraction. If a politician says something offensive, he'll sometimes issue a formal retraction later. When someone needs to withdraw an opinion or backpedal on something they've said (especially publicly), they send out a retraction. A newspaper editor might publish a retraction after a badly reported story is printed, and astronomers who discover a new star might announce a retraction after realizing it was just a smudge on the lens of their telescope. The Latin root is retractionem, "a drawing back."
Vocabulary lists containing retraction
Power Prefix: re-
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Journalism
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Hamilton
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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.
“The mentioned criticism of my research has been addressed through formal peer-review processes, with retraction requests denied by the journal. My papers are factual, balanced, rigorous, and accurately contextualize the findings.”
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026
Instead, its partial retraction is "rescued" by the rapid pace of early embryonic cell cycles.
From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2026
Almost immediately after Takaichi's remarks, Beijing responded with a flurry of condemnation and demanded a retraction.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
The company declined to comment on the most recent retraction.
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
The kebab man, a Tajik, had taken offense and demanded a retraction.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
