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retractive

[ri-trak-tiv]

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adjective

tending or serving to retract.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English retractif < Old French; see retract¹, -ive

Related forms

re·trac·tive·ly, adverb

re·trac·tive·ness, noun

un·re·trac·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Retractive is always a great word to know.

So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

retract (rɪˈtrækt)

—vb
1.	(tr) to draw in (a part or appendage): a snail can retract its horns; to retract the landing gear of an aircraft
2.	to withdraw (a statement, opinion, charge, etc) as invalid or unjustified
3.	to go back on (a promise or agreement)
4.	(intr) to shrink back, as in fear
5.	phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue back away from the lips

[C16: from Latin retractāre to withdraw, from tractāre to pull, from trahere to drag]

re'tractable

—*adj*

re'tractible

—*adj*

retracta'bility

—n

retractibility

—n

retractation

—n

re'tractive

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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