Meanings
present singular third person withtracts · participle present withtracting · participle past withtracted · past withtracted
- ambitransitivenonstandardpossiblyrareTo withdraw, retract.
Did he withtract his words?
1861, Francis A. H. Terrell, Anne Boleyn, page 933 more examples
Okay. I withtract the statement - you could've got that dumb in twenty years.
1953, Don Douglas, Just Off Broadway, page 30I withtract instantly, close the ironclad, close ... but I have been penetrated and cannot and look back up again along the same trajectory of sight and am imbedded again in those eyes on me […]
1998, Scott Symons, Christopher Elson, Dear Reader, page 98HE TOLD YOU??? What happened to the sacred bond of bro-hood?? NOT COOL, MAN!! I withtract my support!
2024, Isla Olsen, Love & Luck - nonstandardpossiblyraretransitiveTo distract.
[…] that the glorious influences of the Spirit were never withtracted by the various beautiful flowers which appeared on every bank and in every brake, she plucked them in large quantities, and filled her basket.
1831, Mary Martha Sherwood, The Lady of the Manor
Origin
Origin uncertain. In one sense, probably a blend of withdraw + retract; in another sense, possibly a blend of withcall (“to call away, divert”) + distract.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
withtract. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withtract
“withtract.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withtract. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “withtract,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withtract.
Source: withtract on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.