RETREATING Synonyms: 78 Similar and Opposite Words

retreating

verb

present participle of retreat

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of retreating Achord is in the huddle every play before retreating to the sideline. — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 Skywatchers will not only see the moon change color, but also witness the sharp, curved edge of Earth’s shadow steadily advancing across — and later retreating from — the lunar surface. — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026 At a moment when Washington is retreating from its responsibilities, New York is stepping up for vulnerable immigrant children. — Meena Shah, New York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2026 Earlier this year, the yellow metal reached record highs near $5,600 before retreating and posting its worst quarter since 2013. — Sean Conlon,justina Lee,fred Imbert,chloe Taylor, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2026 It’s made up of nine river rooms and three junior suites, so staying here feels more like retreating to a private waterside residence than checking into a city stay. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026 Yet some of retail’s fastest-growing companies are not retreating from physical stores. — Ayşe Çetinel, Harvard Business Review, 18 Aug. 2026 And Denise, rather than retreating from the action, unleashes a piercing battle cry and plunges into the mayhem head on. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 Bryce Eldridge started his day by turning a one-man double play at first base after handling a sharp grounder and tagging out the runner retreating to first while stepping on the bag. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for retreating

Verb

The scheme reportedly involved depositing checks from accounts with insufficient funds, then withdrawing the temporarily available money, leaving the banks to absorb the losses once the checks bounced, court records show.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026
Numerous energy projects end up withdrawing entirely from the process.

— Ray Fernandez, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of withdrawing

Verb

Surveillance video from the Cedar Glenn complex showed Brunson, Newman, and another unnamed co-defendant jumping a fence, approaching a Chevrolet Suburban, and fleeing after being confronted by a witness.

— Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026
Horrifying surveillance video circulating online shows people fleeing before the mudslide hits and a deluge crashes down on them.

— Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of fleeing

Verb

Involves engineering hurdles Building solar farms on open water involves far more engineering hurdles than bolting panels onto dry land.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026
Above all, embed accuracy into explainability rather than bolting it on afterward.

— Sriram Bhargav Madhav, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of bolting

Verb

This is because the material that serves as the building blocks for planets is constantly escaping the swirling platters of gas and dust, or protoplanetary disks, that wrap around infant stars.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Fuller’s ideas are hard to summarize, but always seem to reach toward a utopian vision of escaping the drudgery of everyday life.

— Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026