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.
One injury, one upset or one withdrawal and British boxing's biggest modern rivalry could once again drift away.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
And now a warning: you will soon be entering the withdrawal phase of your retirement having made a humdinger of your accumulation phase, and that will incur taxes.
From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026
At some point constitutional rights have to govern ordinary participation in society rather than hypothetical withdrawal from it.
From Slate • May 20, 2026
The meeting, which runs through Saturday, comes after a difficult year for an organisation weakened by the announced US withdrawal and deep funding cuts.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
In December, the Allies began an orderly withdrawal, leaving Turkey still in control of the Dardanelles and still in the war.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
