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 The film’s opening stretch whizzes along as Charli — a natural, engaging actor — is dragged from one banal, vaguely embarrassing meeting or negotiation to another, sketchy vignettes usually punctuated at their close by Charli putting on her dark sunglasses and retreating back inward. —

Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026 Trump’s remarks Wednesday, suddenly retreating from his threat of military force, could mitigate some of the damage inflicted on Washington’s most cherished relationships. —

Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026 Start the day with a swim in one of the hotel’s three infinity pools before retreating to the bar for a lunchtime cocktail, or the spa for pampering. —

Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026 In recent weeks, as Iran’s supreme leader has unusually acknowledged that thousands of protesters were killed amid a nationwide crackdown, the Islamic Republic has appeared to turn inward once again, sealing off communications and retreating into repression. —

Callum McLennan, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026 Worley said the armed person was in the hallway of a building before retreating into an apartment. —

Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026 No wonder the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer finds a world retreating into isolationism. —

Diane Brady, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2026 But, with retreating sea ice, there is less under-ice algae to feed the amphipods that in turn feed the whales. —

David Helvarg, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026 The pact also included staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees. —

David R. Martin, Chicago Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for retreating

Verb

Uhlaender accused the Canadian team and its coach, Joe Cecchini, of intentionally withdrawing the athletes, deliberately manipulating the field to benefit one of their own sliders’ bids for qualification.

— Don Riddell, CNN Money, 26 Jan. 2026
In so doing, avoid withdrawing NATO’s commitment to defend NATO member states’ remote, former (and, in the case of Cyprus, coincidentally insular) colonial territories was thus established as a norm for the alliance, not an exception – one that is newly relevant once again.

— Barry Scott Zellen, Hartford Courant, 22 Jan. 2026