retractive

[ ri-trak-tiv ]

adjective

1. tending or serving to retract.

Other Words From

• re·tractive·ly adverb
• re·tractive·ness noun
• unre·tractive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of retractive¹

1350–1400; Middle English retractif < Old French; retract ¹, -ive

Example Sentences

Stroman went on the IL retractive to June 7.

From Seattle Times

As Michael Proeve at University of Adelaide and Steven Tudor at La Trobe University write in their book, "Remorse: Psychological and Jurisprudential Perspectives": these are “retractive” emotions, which means they distance themselves from something that is associated with the self.

From Salon

Remorse belongs to a class of “retractive emotions,” such as guilt, shame, regret and contrition.

From Salon

But at the retractive moment he ran plump into the Major, stalking grandly along the tile-paved walk and smoking a war-time cheroot of preposterous length.

From Project Gutenberg