Retraction
The act of withdrawing a statement or claim; a formal reversal or correction of something previously stated or published.
nounRetraction
The act of withdrawing a statement or claim; a formal reversal or correction of something previously stated or published.
nounImagine This
Picture a famous scientist releasing a groundbreaking paper, then weeks later issuing a formal retraction after an error is found in the data, accompanied by an apologetic note to readers.
Sounds Like
rih-TRAK-shuhn
Looks Like
Looks like the base word 'retract' with the suffix -ion; resembles 'retract'.
Remember This
Retractions are common in journalism and science and indicate a commitment to accuracy; they are related to the verb 'retract' (to pull back).
Other Forms
Connect With
withdrawal, recant, retract, revocation, denial, correction
Note
Do not confuse with 'retraction' in anatomy or with 'retraction' meaning simply the physical act of pulling something back in. In most SAT contexts, it refers to withdrawing a statement or claim.
Study Deeper
- The newspaper issued a retraction after discovering errors in its reporting.
- After new evidence emerged, the researchers published a retraction of their previously published conclusions.
From Latin retractio, from re- 'back' + tractus 'drawn'; related to the verb retract and the noun traction.
RE-TRACT-ION: Remember that 're-' means back and 'tract' means draw; a retraction is drawing back a statement or claim.
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Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
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Acronym
nounA word formed from the initial letters of a phrase, pronounced as a single word and used as a shorthand for the full name (for example, NASA or radar).