an act or process of withdrawing; retreat, removal, or detachment
the period a drug addict goes through following abrupt termination in the use of narcotics, usually characterized by physical and mental symptoms (withdrawal symptoms)
1820s, "act of taking back," also "retraction of a statement," from withdraw + -al (2). Earlier words in the same sense were withdrawment (1640s); withdraught (mid-14c.). Meaning "removal of money from a bank, etc." is from 1861; psychological sense is from 1916; meaning "physical reaction to the cessation of an addictive substance" is from 1929 (with an isolated use from 1897; withdrawal symptoms is from 1924). As a synonym for coitus interruptus from 1889.
Detachment, as from social or emotional involvement.
Discontinuation of the use of an addictive substance.
The physiological and mental readjustment that accompanies such discontinuation.
A pattern of behavior, observed in schizophrenia and depression, that is characterized by a pathological retreat from interpersonal contact and social involvement and that leads to self-preoccupation.
Discontinuation of the use of an addictive substance. The symptoms of withdrawal include headache, diarrhea, and tremors and can range from mild to life threatening, depending on the extent of the body's reliance on the addictive substance.
