With·draw v. t. [imp. Withdrew p. p. Withdrawn p. pr. & vb. n. Withdrawing.]
1. To take back or away, as what has been bestowed or enjoyed; to draw back; to cause to move away or retire; as, to withdraw aid, favor, capital, or the like.
Impossible it is that God should withdraw his presence from anything. --Hooker.
2. To take back; to recall or retract; as, to withdraw false charges.
withdraw
v 1: pull back or move away or backward; "The enemy withdrew";
"The limo pulled away from the curb" [syn: retreat, pull
away, draw back, recede, pull back, retire, move
back]
2: withdraw from active participation; "He retired from chess"
[syn: retire]
3: release from something that holds fast, connects, or
entangles; "I want to disengage myself from his
influence"; "disengage the gears" [syn: disengage] [ant:
engage]
4: cause to be returned; "recall the defective auto tires";
"The manufacturer tried to call back the spoilt yoghurt"
[syn: recall, call in, call back]
5: take back what one has said; "He swallowed his words" [syn:
swallow, take back, unsay]
6: keep away from others; "He sequestered himself in his study
to write a book" [syn: seclude, sequester, sequestrate]
7: remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, taking
off, etc. or remove something abstract; "remove a threat";
"remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the
table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine
withdraws heat from the environment" [syn: remove, take,
take away]
8: break from a meeting or gathering; "We adjourned for lunch";
"The men retired to the library" [syn: adjourn, retire]
9: retire gracefully; "He bowed out when he realized he could
no longer handle the demands of the chairmanship" [syn: bow
out]
10: remove (a commodity) from (a supply source); "She drew
$2,000 from the account"; "The doctors drew medical
supplies from the hospital's emergency bank" [syn: draw,
take out, draw off] [ant: deposit]
11: lose interest; "he retired from life when his wife died"
[syn: retire]
12: make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity;
"We'll have to crawfish out from meeting with him"; "He
backed out of his earlier promise"; "The aggressive
investment company pulled in its horns" [syn: retreat,
pull back, back out, back away, crawfish, crawfish
out, pull in one's horns]
[also: withdrew, withdrawn]