RECEDE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does recede mean? 

• RECEDE (verb)
  The verb RECEDE has 3 senses:

1. pull back or move away or backward

2. retreat

3. become faint or more distant

  Familiarity information: RECEDE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RECEDE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they recede    ... he / she / it recedes   
Past simple: receded   
Past participle: receded   
-ing form: receding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pull back or move away or backward

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

draw back; move back; pull away; pull back; recede; retire; retreat; withdraw

Context example:

The limo pulled away from the curb

Hypernyms (to "recede" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Verb group:

back away; back out; crawfish; crawfish out; pull back; pull in one's horns; retreat; withdraw (make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "recede"):

fall back (move back and away from)

retreat; retrograde (move back)

back down; back off; back up (move backwards from a certain position)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Antonym:

advance (move forward, also in the metaphorical sense)

Derivation:

receding (the act of becoming more distant)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Retreat

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

drop off; fall back; fall behind; recede

Hypernyms (to "recede" is one way to...):

regress; retrograde; retrogress (get worse or fall back to a previous condition)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

receding (the act of becoming more distant)

recession (the act of ceding back)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become faint or more distant

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

the unhappy memories of her childhood receded as she grew older

Hypernyms (to "recede" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "recede"):

ebb (fall away or decline)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

receding (a slow or gradual disappearance)

recession (the act of becoming more distant)

 Context examples 

As climate warmed, glaciers receded, leaving Yosemite-like valleys and similar geologic features behind.

("Out of Tibet" hypothesis: Cradle of evolution for cold-adapted mammals is in Tibet, NSF)

The Cassini spacecraft obtained the new views in late July, as it receded from Titan after a close flyby.

(Cassini tracks clouds developing over a Titan sea, NASA)

But do not deceive yourself into a belief that I will ever recede.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

It was Neville St. Clair’s coat, and not Neville St. Clair, which lay uncovered as the tide receded.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He seemed neither to advance nor to recede.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Unlike any other wall with which he had had experience, this wall seemed to recede from him as he approached.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

In the pause which succeeded, a sound like receding footsteps and the closing of a distant door struck on her affrighted ear.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Your old life is rapidly receding into history and thank goodness for that—your new life will be so much more exciting.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Appearance of the neoplasms occurs over several weeks before receding over the course of several months if untreated.

(Multiple Self Healing Epithelioma of Ferguson-Smith, NCI Thesaurus)

Commonly observed at birth in Turner Syndrome and NOONAN SYNDROME; EDEMA of the extremities usually recedes by one year and is an early sign of Turner syndrome, especially in female neonates.

(Bonnevie-Ullrich Syndrome, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)