recede

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb recede contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of recede are back, retract, and retreat. While all these words mean "to move backward," recede implies a gradual withdrawing from a forward or high fixed point in time or space.

the flood waters gradually receded

In what contexts can back take the place of recede?

The meanings of back and recede largely overlap; however, back is used with up, down, out, or off to refer to any retrograde motion.

backed off on the throttle

When could retract be used to replace recede?

In some situations, the words retract and recede are roughly equivalent. However, retract implies drawing back from an extended position.

a cat retracting its claws

When would retreat be a good substitute for recede?

While the synonyms retreat and recede are close in meaning, retreat implies withdrawal from a point or position reached.

retreating soldiers

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 recede An expanse of nothing preceding them, receding behind them, ruptured only by the trap music coming from the speakers. Bryan Washington, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025 As the water recedes, Leticia's cargo wharf has been extended several times to reach the river. John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025 Their empires cracked, their shadows receded, and their names faded into cautionary tales. John Hope Bryant, Time, 6 Sep. 2025 The discovery also shows how a single strong runoff year, 2023, postponed serious water shortages on the Colorado River, and how, two years later, as the water recedes again, those shortages loom on the horizon. Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 5 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for recede
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recede
Verb
  • From the Luddites smashing looms in 19th-century England to autoworkers walking out over the introduction of robots to the factory floor in the 1980s, resistance has flared before either being crushed or subsiding, giving way to the new economies and social orders the technologies ushered in.
    Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The pharmaceutical company’s shares traded as high as $942 last summer, but have subsided to about $755.
    John Dorfman, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Duncan even contemplated mounting a third-party challenge to Trump as a No Labels candidate last year before withdrawing his name from consideration.
    Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 16 Sep. 2025
  • The Biden administration had weighed withdrawing antitrust immunity for the joint venture, which began in 2016.
    Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But with Burrow now looking likely to miss the majority of the regular season, those chances look severely diminished.
    Ben Morse, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2025
  • One potential problem with this set-up is that the SCORE Act diminishes the role of state law in subject areas traditionally governed by states.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • And if the Fed ends up cutting fewer times than traders expect, including three this year, the market could retreat in disappointment.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2025
  • One deputy retreated while two of them fired their guns, hitting Williams and Lane, authorities said.
    Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • They’re formulated with hydrating ingredients designed to decrease puffiness and help with dark circles.
    Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Darrow says the orchard’s acreage has decreased by half, mirroring the state’s overall decline since 2000.
    Mark Dent, HubSpot, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Maxwell pitched a scoreless, and then Connor Phillips, a relative veteran with 18 big-league appearances on his resume, worked around a walk to retire the top of the Padres’ order and earned the win following Tyler Stephenson’s homer.
    C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Rutherford, who retired in 2021 but previously worked with Barth on certain programs, said Barth’s expertise was particularly useful in dealing with challenges that most people don’t fully consider.
    Nathan Ansell, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Entire industries appear and vanish with the velocity of software updates.
    Joseph Coughlin, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Remember their 10-game skid, the losing streak that seemed to sink the season, the one during which Luis Ortiz vanished because of a gambling investigation, the one during which the Guardians couldn’t muster anything at the plate?
    Zack Meisel, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • New residential property prices fell year-on-year during August in 65 out of 70 cities surveyed by the NBS, data also showed.
    Nino Paoli, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Penske’s complaint argues that practice isn’t a fair exchange and has caused significant financial harm, with the company’s affiliate revenue falling by more than a third (as a result of Google’s AI Overviews co-opting traffic that might have otherwise gone to Penske outlets).
    Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Recede.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recede. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.

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