retractability

Variant of retract

transitive verb, intransitive verb

  1. to draw back or in: to retract claws
  2. to withdraw or disavow (a statement, promise, offer, charge, etc.); recant

Origin: ME retracten: in retractsense < L retractus, pp. of retrahere, to draw back < re-, back + trahere, to draw; in retractsense < MFr retracter < L retractare, to draw back, withdraw < re-, back + tractare, to pull, draw, freq. of trahere

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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