WordWeb Online

1. Formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure
   "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion";
   - abjure, recant, forswear, resile
    
2. Pull away from a source of disgust or fear
   - shrink back
    
3. Use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound or an organ)
   - pull back, draw back
    
4. Pull inward or towards a centre
   "The cat retracted his claws";
   - draw in

Derived forms: retracted, retracting, retracts

Type of: attract, blench, cringe, disown, draw, draw in, flinch, funk, pull, pull in, quail, recoil, renounce, repudiate, shrink, squinch [N. Amer], wince

Encyclopedia: Retract