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To draw back; to draw up or shorten; as, the cat can retract its claws; to retract a muscle.

Capable of being retracted; retractile.

To retract; to recant. [Obs.]

The act of retracting what has been said; recantation.

Retractable.

CApable of retraction; capable of being drawn back or up; as, the claws of a cat are retractile.

The act of retracting, or drawing back; the state of being retracted; as, the retraction of a cat's claws.

Serving to retract; of the nature of a retraction. -- Re*tract"ive*ly, adv.

One who, or that which, retracts. Specifically:

Not retractile.

ovement, movement produced, as in the amoeba, by successive processes of prolongation and retraction.

g his presence at the time on pain of what may befall him. -- To call back, to revoke or retract; to recall; to summon back. -- To call down, to pray for, as blessing or curses. -- To call forth, to bring or summon to action; as, to call forth all the faculties of the mind. -- To call in, (a) To collect; as, to cal…

A change of measures; alteration of conduct. Such countermarches and retractions as we do not willingly impute to wisdom. T. Burnet.

(partitive use). "Eat of the bread that can not waste." Keble. -- To eat one's words, to retract what one has said. (See the Citation under Blurt.) -- To eat out, to consume completely. "Eat out the heart and comfort of it." Tillotson. -- To eat the wind out of a vessel (Naut.), to gain slowly to windward of her.…

A cotter or split pin, as in a slot in a bolt, to prevent retraction; a linchpin; a pin fastening the cap-square of a gun. Forelock bolt, a bolt retained by a key, gib, or cotter passing through a slot. -- Forelock hook (Rope Making), a winch or whirl by which a bunch of three yarns is twisted into a standard. Knight.…

e animal of Madagascar (Cryptoprocta ferox). It resembles a cat in size and form, and has retractile claws.

und formed in the throat; esp., a sound formed by the aid of the back of the tongue, much retracted, and the soft palate; also, a letter representing such a sound.

d the like. The nose is pinched, the eyes are sunk, the temples hollow, the ears cold and retracted, the skin of the forehead tense and dry, the complexion livid, the lips pendent, relaxed, and cold; -- so called, as having been described by Hippocrates. Dunglison. -- Hippocratic oath, an oath said to have been dictat…

A cleft or division. Jag bolt, a bolt with a nicked or barbed shank which resists retraction, as when leaded into stone.

An order of wormlike, degraded, parasitic arachnids. They have two pairs of retractile hooks, near the mouth. Called also Pentastomida.