mindmap root((后退)) recede implies a gradual withdrawing from a forward or high point in time, space, or attitude: the flood waters gradually ~d. （如a middle-aged man with receding hair/a receding hairline一个发际后移的中年男子，如"an individual human existence should be like a river---small at first......gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly..."人生像条河,开始很小......逐渐地河变宽，岸退后，水变缓......在新四14篇，选自Russell罗素的。解释中说这个词也可以指时间或态度，但没有查到这种用法，全都用于空间space） retreat implies a withdrawal from a point or position reached, typically in response to some pressure: under cross-examination, he ~ed from that statement. retrograde implies a movement contrary to what is expected, normal, or natural, and is the reverse of progress: infant fatality has ~. retract implies a drawing back or in from an extended or outward position: a cat ~ing its claws. back is used with up, down, out, or off to refer to any retrograde or reversed motion: ~ed off when her claims were challenged.