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.
At some point constitutional rights have to govern ordinary participation in society rather than hypothetical withdrawal from it.
From Slate • May 20, 2026
The fictional movie he’s making looks stiff, a period epic about Spain’s colonialist withdrawal from the Sahara in the 1930s, which doubles as a metaphor for the father’s destructive absence from his now-adult child’s life.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 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 late April, the FDA moved to formally begin withdrawal proceedings.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Strauss scholars disagree on whether his withdrawal was a rejection of his previous accommodation with the regime, a suspicion that it might not last, or simply an old man choosing retirement.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
