Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Tending or serving to retract.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Tending or serving to retract; retracting.
  • noun That which draws back or restrains.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Serving to retract; of the nature of a retraction.
  • noun That which retracts, or withdraws.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun That which retracts or withdraws.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

retract +‎ -ive?

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Examples

  • Profess relegion and pro life and then comit retractive birth control by creating a war … ….

    Think Progress » Senate defies Bush veto threat, 2005

  • He made a move to cross the street, but I had seen him and he went through a clumsy retractive motion.

    The Worst Years of Your Life Mark Jude Poirier 2007

  • Murphy's move is retractive to March 31, the day after he sprained his knee in a rundown.

    ESPN.com Associated Press 2010

  • The archdiocese gave the union an ultimatum last August to sign a new deal or risk losing retractive pay raises going back to the end of their last contract.

    unknown title 2009

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