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

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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 That deadlock prompted an unusually long recess of nearly 90 minutes that was followed by a 6-0 vote in favor of retreating on the bus stops. —

David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2026 Many of them have been linked to retreating glaciers, as melting ice destabilizes the mountains and land that had been covered for centuries. —

Ella Nilsen, CNN Money, 6 May 2026 Alaska Time would have awoken them as the north fjord wall crumbled just in front of the retreating tongue of the South Sawyer Glacier. —

Megan I. Gannon, Scientific American, 6 May 2026 With Colorado on the power play, the Avs icon lost the puck near the Minnesota blue line and stumbled while retreating. —

Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 May 2026 When his phone rang, Fareen probably on her way to LaGuardia, Ramzan could not answer fast enough, retreating from Sakeena. —

Literary Hub, 4 May 2026 Your husband has a long history of crossing the line and then retreating back just far enough that there’s an illusion of change. —

R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2026 After retreating from the spotlight for some years, Ryan dipped her toe back into the acting pond, starring in a Hellmann's Super Bowl commercial to recreate that iconic diner scene from When Harry Met Sally with Billy Crystal. —

Alison Schwartz, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026 Chrysler, facing financial pressure, rushed to graft increasingly conventional grilles onto the rounded nose, retreating year by year from the very aerodynamic principles that made the car more efficient. —

Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 29 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for retreating

Verb

The Cabinet discussed—and George III supported—withdrawing from the coastal colonies entirely in favor of the Caribbean.

— Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Two top Republican lawmakers expressed concern about the Pentagon withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany.

— Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 4 May 2026