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retractive

American  
[ri-trak-tiv] / rɪˈtræk tɪv /

adjective

  1. tending or serving to retract.

Other Word Forms

  • retractively adverb
  • retractiveness noun
  • unretractive adjective

Etymology

Origin of retractive

1350–1400; Middle English retractif < Old French; see retract 1, -ive

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.

Stroman went on the IL retractive to June 7.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 10, 2022

But at the retractive moment he ran plump into the Major, stalking grandly along the tile-paved walk and smoking a war-time cheroot of preposterous length.

From The Quickening by Ashe, E. M.

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.