RECEDING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does receding mean? 

• RECEDING (noun)
  The noun RECEDING has 2 senses:

1. a slow or gradual disappearance

2. the act of becoming more distant

  Familiarity information: RECEDING used as a noun is rare.

• RECEDING (adjective)
  The adjective RECEDING has 1 sense:

1. (of a hairline e.g.) moving slowly back

  Familiarity information: RECEDING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RECEDING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A slow or gradual disappearance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

fadeout; receding

Hypernyms ("receding" is a kind of...):

disappearance (the event of passing out of sight)

Derivation:

recede (become faint or more distant)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of becoming more distant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

receding; recession

Hypernyms ("receding" is a kind of...):

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

Derivation:

recede (retreat)

recede (pull back or move away or backward)

• RECEDING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(of a hairline e.g.) moving slowly back

Similar:

backward (directed or facing toward the back or rear)

 Context examples 

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)

So once again I softly kissed her hair as I felt her receding from my clasp.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

As the receding wave swept back with a hoarse roar, it seemed to scoop out deep caves in the beach, as if its purpose were to undermine the earth.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

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)

It burnt on, however, quite steadily, neither receding nor advancing.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

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)

Clinical signs include brachycephaly, arachnodactyly, receding mandible and joint laxity at the hands and feet.

(Achard Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

That was the last he saw of the man in the red sweater, and as Curly and he looked at receding Seattle from the deck of the Narwhal, it was the last he saw of the warm Southland.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Though early gum disease often has no symptoms, the signs can include red, swollen, tender, or bleeding gums; gums receding or pulling away from the teeth; persistent bad breath; pus between gums and teeth, and mouth sores.

(New Link Found between Alzheimer's & Gum Disease Bacteria, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

With this parting cordial she curtsies off—you listen to the sound of her receding footsteps as long as the last echo can reach you—and when, with fainting spirits, you attempt to fasten your door, you discover, with increased alarm, that it has no lock.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)