retreat

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. withdrawal, retirement; seclusion; shelter, asylum; refuge, resort. See abode. — v. i. withdraw, retire, fall back. See regression, departure, escape.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [The act of retreating]

Syn. retirement, removal, evacuation, departure, escape, withdrawal, drawing back, reversal, retrogression, backing out, flight, recession, retraction, going, running away, eluding, evasion, avoidance, recoil.

Ant. advance*, progress, progression.

2. [A place to which one retreats]

Syn. seclusion, solitude, privacy, shelter, refuge, asylum, safe place, defense, sanctuary, security, cover, ark, harbor, port, haven, place of concealment, hiding place, hideaway*, resort, haunt, habitat, hermitage, cell, convent, cloister; see also refuge 1 .

Ant. front*, exposed position, van.

See Synonym Study at shelter .

• beat a retreat,

Syn. evacuate, abandon, withdraw; see leave 1 , retreat 2 .

v.

1. [To retire]

Syn. recede, withdraw, draw back, retrograde, back out, retract, leave, go, depart, recoil, shrink, quail, run, reel, start back, pull back, reverse, seclude oneself, keep aloof, keep apart, hide, separate from, regress, resign, relinquish, lay down, hand over, sequester oneself, retrocede, backtrack, back off, back down, chicken out*.

Ant. stay*, continue, advance.

2. [In battle, to execute a forced retirement]

Syn. evacuate, abandon, leave, withdraw, back out, vacate the position, retire, remove, pull out, march out, disengage, turn back, fall back, draw back, move back, give ground, move behind, beat a retreat, back down, escape, decamp, fly, run away, turn tail, be routed, give way, flee, flee in disorder, execute a strategic withdrawal, shorten one's lines, avoid, evade, elude.

Ant. attack*, progress, drive forward.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. withdrawal flight, departure, pull-out, evacuation, escape, volte-face, *backpedaling, getaway, retirement.

2. safe, quiet place sanctuary, asylum, haven, refuge, hideaway, shelter, cloister.

II

v.

withdraw, flee, depart, pull out, evacuate, escape, *head for the hills, do an about-face, backpedal, get away, escape, *beat a hasty retreat.

ANT.: charge, advance, progress

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. Something that physically protects, especially from danger: asylum, cover, covert, harbor, haven, protection, refuge, sanctuary, shelter. See ATTACK, SAFETY. 2. The moving back of a military force in the face of enemy attack or after a defeat: fallback, pullback, pullout, retirement, withdrawal. See FORWARD. II verb 1. To move back or away from a point, limit, or mark: ebb, recede, retract, retrocede, retrograde, retrogress. See APPROACH. 2. To move in a reverse direction: back, backpedal, backtrack, fall back, retrocede, retrograde, retrogress. Idiom: retrace one's steps. See FORWARD. 3. To abandon a former position or commitment: back down (or out), renege. Slang: cop out, fink out. See RESIST. 4. To move back in the face of enemy attack or after a defeat: draw back, fall back, pull back, pull out, retire, withdraw. Idioms: beat a retreat, give ground (or way). See FORWARD.