to go or move away; retreat; go to or toward a more distant point; withdraw.
2.
to become more distant.
3.
(of a color, form, etc., on a flat surface) to move away or be perceived as moving away from an observer, esp. as giving the illusion of space. Compare advance(def. 15).
4.
to slope backward: a chin that recedes.
5.
to draw back or withdraw from a conclusion, viewpoint, undertaking, promise, etc.
Origin: 1470–80; < L recēdere to go, fall back, equiv. to re-re-+ cēdere to withdraw, go; see cede
To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark: waited for the floodwaters to recede.
To slope backward.
To become or seem to become fainter or more distant: Eventually, my unhappy memories of the place receded.
To withdraw or retreat.
[Middle English receden, from Old French receder, from Latin recēdere : re-, re- + cēdere, to go; see ked- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to move backward: a hairline that had receded; waters that ebb at low tide; a turtle that retracted into its shell; an army that retreated to avoid defeat; academic standards that have retrograded.
[ri-seed] 
