1. The act of taking or drawing back (retraction of anticipatory repudiation before breach of contract).
2. The act of recanting; a statement in recantation (retraction of a defamatory remark). [Cases: Libel and Slander 66. C.J.S. Libel and Slander; Injurious Falsehood§ 195.]
3. Wills & estates. A withdrawal of a renunciation (because of her retraction, she took property under her uncle’s will). See RENUNCIATION(3).
4. Copyright. The right of authors and artists to renounce their creative works and to forbid their sale or display. • Retraction is one of the moral rights of artists recognized in civil-law countries and much of Europe, but largely unavailable in the United States. — Also termed (in sense 4) withdrawal. — retract, vb.
