1
as in withdrawing
to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable)
we retreated to the safety of the cellar at the first sign of the tornado
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fleeing
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
the untried soldiers retreated in humiliating disarray almost as soon as the enemy's onslaught began
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of retreating
Many are retreating from their DEI commitments.
—
Sankar Sen, The Conversation, 11 June 2026
However, over three days of fighting, a Union Army force sent Confederate soldiers retreating back to the South.
—Alia Beard Rau, USA Today, 10 June 2026
Josh Rojas tried to sacrifice him over to third, but his bunt went straight back to Orze, who threw to second base too late to catch the retreating Tolbert.
—CBS News, 6 June 2026
Similarly, retreating glaciers that form the Greenland Ice Sheet carve new valleys and reshape the physical geography, which will likely bring new challenges for the land mammals.
—Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 1 June 2026
Haiti continues to stand before far larger powers — culturally, economically, politically — without retreating.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 May 2026
The video appears to show a person standing with a snow shovel outside the house, near the street, then retreating toward the house and tossing the shovel into the yard.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Instead of retreating from global trade, many small and mid-sized companies are leaning in and even accelerating global expansion.
—Greg Hewitt, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
Given the lackluster retail climate in China, Givenchy has been retreating from brick-and-mortar retail.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 25 May 2026
Sankar Sen, The Conversation, 11 June 2026
However, over three days of fighting, a Union Army force sent Confederate soldiers retreating back to the South.
—Alia Beard Rau, USA Today, 10 June 2026
Josh Rojas tried to sacrifice him over to third, but his bunt went straight back to Orze, who threw to second base too late to catch the retreating Tolbert.
—CBS News, 6 June 2026
Similarly, retreating glaciers that form the Greenland Ice Sheet carve new valleys and reshape the physical geography, which will likely bring new challenges for the land mammals.
—Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 1 June 2026
Haiti continues to stand before far larger powers — culturally, economically, politically — without retreating.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 May 2026
The video appears to show a person standing with a snow shovel outside the house, near the street, then retreating toward the house and tossing the shovel into the yard.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Instead of retreating from global trade, many small and mid-sized companies are leaning in and even accelerating global expansion.
—Greg Hewitt, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
Given the lackluster retail climate in China, Givenchy has been retreating from brick-and-mortar retail.
—Denni Hu, Footwear News, 25 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retreating
Verb
-
After battling through injury during Saturday's third round at the RBC Canadian Open, Brooks Koepka opted not to give it a go in the final round, ultimately withdrawing from the PGA Tour event on Sunday morning.—
Mark Harris,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
-
This is because Roth IRAs allow withdrawals of your contributions penalty-free (there are, however, stipulations for withdrawing earnings).—
Becca Stanek,
TheWeek,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Proper told investigators that a group planned to stage a demonstration outside the White House, fly small drones laden with explosives to detonate outside the arena to force the crowd to evacuate, and act as snipers to shoot people fleeing the event.—
Noe Padilla,
USA Today,
16 June 2026
-
Mangione is accused of stalking Thompson and shooting him in the back outside a Manhattan Hilton hotel, then fleeing to Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he was arrested while eating a McDonald's breakfast.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Silverton has trailblazed a career through the food industry, but has no plans of retiring anytime soon.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2026
-
In 2018, Rita Ferro succeeded the retiring Erhardt as the ESPN sales boss under a new title (president, Disney ad sales).—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
After flying overnight from San Antonio back to the Big Apple, Jose Alvarado, also a native New Yorker, took part in a local Puerto Rican Day Parade, and the mayor joined him in the fun.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
15 June 2026
-
Videos circulating online show Eduarda flying through the air, both arms outstretched, in the moments before her death.—
Alicia Victoria Lozano,
NBC news,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
The fintechs that came through the shakeout in good shape had already built compliance like a product, instead of bolting it on later.—
Agustín Guerra,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
-
In that short time, shares have risen around 40%, bolting the company's valuation above that of Amazon's.—
Sean Conlon,Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Some were seen walking away after escaping the aircraft.—
Diego Mendoza,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
-
The film centers on three women in a remote Bangladeshi village – blind Momi, schoolgirl Hima, and pregnant Laili – who dream of escaping a world shaped by superstition and religious conservatism, with consequences that grow increasingly dire for each of them.—
Jenny S. Li,
Variety,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
His nagging hamstring strain prevents him pretty much only from running full speed, but that was enough to land him on the 10-day IL.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 June 2026
-
Ahead of this week’s record IPO, SpaceX disclosed that Google has agreed to pay it roughly $920 million a month for compute capacity at its Memphis campus, access to something on the order of 110,000 GPUs running into 2029.—
Robert J. Szczerba,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Retreating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retreating. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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