retreat 
of retirement for religious self- 
examination, meditation, and special prayer. 
= Syn. B. Seclusion, solitude, privacy. 6. Shelter, haunt, 
den. 
retreat 1 (re-tret'), v. [< retreat 1 , n.] I. it 
1. To retire; move backward ; go back. 
The rapid currents drive 
Towards the retreating sea their furious tide. 
Milton, P. L., xi. 854. 
2. Specifically, to retire from military action 
or from an enemy; give way; fall back, as 
from a dangerous position. 
Ask why from Britain Ciesar would retreat; 
Cajsar himself might whisper he was beat. 
Pope, Moral Essays, i. 129. 
3. In fencing, to move backward in order to 
avoid the point of the adversary's sword : spe- 
cifically expressing a quick movement of the 
left foot a few inches to the rear, followed by 
the right foot, the whole being so executed that 
the fencer keeps his equilibrium and is ready to 
lunge and parry at will. 4. To recede; with- 
draw from an asserted claim or pretension, or 
from a course of action previously undertaken. 
5127 
He told us flatly that he was born in the Low Countreys 
at Delft. This retrenched all farther examination of him ; 
for thereby he was inelligible. 
Sir H. H'oUon, Reliquia!, p. 671. 
5. To limit; restrict. 
These figures, ought they then to receive a retrenched 
interpretation? / Taylor. 
6. Milit. : (a) To furnish with a retrenchment 
or retrenchments. (6) To intrench. 
That Evening he [Gustavus] appear'd in sight of the 
Place and immediately retrench'd himself near the Chapel 
of St. Olans, with all the Care and Diligence of a Man that 
is afraid of being attacked. 
J. Mitchel, tr. of Vertot's Hist. Rev. in Sweden, p. 139. 
II. intrans. 1. To make a reduction in quan- 
tity, amount, or extent ; especially, to curtail 
expenses; economize. 
Can I retrench? Yes, mighty well, 
Shrink back to my paternal cell, . . . 
And there I'll die, nor worse nor better. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, I. vii. 75. 
2. To trench; encroach; make inroads. 
He was forced to retrench deeply on his Japanese rev- 
enues. Sw\ft, Account of the Court and Empire of Japan. 
retrenchment (re-trench'ment), H. [< OF. 
undertook! H. Spencer, Prin. of Sociol., 580. 
5. To withdraw to a retreat ; go into retire- 
ment ; retire for shelter, rest, or quiet. 
Others, more mild, 
Retreated in a silent valley, sing, 
With notes angelical, to many a harp. 
Milton, P. L., ii. 547. 
But see, the shepherds shun the noonday heat, 
The lowing herds to murmuring brooks retreat. 
Pope, Summer, 1. 86. 
When weary they retreat 
T' enjoy cool nature in a country seat. 
Cowper, Hope, L 244. 
6. To slope backward ; have a receding outline 
or direction : as, a retreating forehead or chin. 
= Syn. To give way, fall back. All verbs of motion com- 
pounded with re- tend to express the idea of failure or 
defeat; but retreat is the only one that necessarily or 
emphatically expresses it. 
Il.t trans. To retract; retrace. 
His dreadfull voyce . . . 
Compelled lordan to retreat his course. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 3. 
retreat 2 ! (re-tref), v. t. [ME. retreten, < OF. 
retreter, < I/, retractare, retrectare, handle anew, 
reconsider: see retract.] To reconsider; ex- 
amine anew. 
He ... retretith deepliche thinges iseyn byforn. 
Chaucer, Boethius, v. meter 3. 
retreater (re-tre'ter), n. One who retreats or 
falls back. 
He stopt and drew the retreaters up into a body, and 
made a stand for an hower with them. 
Prince Rupert's beating up the Rebels' Quarters at Post-combe 
{and Chenner, p. 8. (Dames.) 
retreatfult (re-tret'ful), a. [< retreat 1 + -ful.] 
Furnishing or serving as a retreat. Chapman. 
retreatment (re-tret'ment), n. [< retreat^ + 
-ment.] Retreat. [Rare.] 
Our Prophet's great retreatment we 
From Mecca to Medina see. 
D'Urfey, Plague of Impertinence. (Dames.) 
retree (re-tre'), . [Prob. < F. retrait, shrink- 
age: see' retreat 1 .] In paper-making, broken, 
wrinkled, or imperfect paper : often marked XX 
on the bundle or in the invoice. 
The Fourdrinier machine may be relied on to give an 
evenly made sheet, with a freedom from hairs and irregu- 
larities of all kinds ; also a small proportion of retree, quite 
unapproachable by hand making. Art Age, III. 199. 
retrench (re-trench'), v. [< OF. retreitcher, re- 
trcncer, retrancher, F. retrancher (= Pr. re- 
tronchar = It. ritroncare), cut off, diminish, < 
re-, back, + trancher, cut: see trench.] I. trans. 
1. To cut off; pare away; prune. 
The pruner's hand, with letting blood, must quench 
Thy heat and thy exuberant parts retrench. 
Sir J. Denham, Old Age, iii. 
2f. To deprive by cutting off ; mutilate. 
Some hundreds on the place 
Were slain outright, and many a face 
Retrenched of nose, and eyes, and beard. 
S. Butter, Hudibras, II. ii. 23. 
3. To cut down; reduce in size, number, ex- 
tent, or amount; curtail; diminish; lessen. 
As though they [the Faction! had said we appear only 
in behalf of the Fundamental Liberties of the people, both 
Civil and Spiritual ; we only seek to retrench the exorbi- 
tances of power. Stittiwjfleet, Sermons, I. vii. 
I must desire that you will not think of enlarging your 
expences, . . . but rather retrench them. 
Swift, Letter, June 29, 1725. 
He [louis XIV.] gradually retrenched all the privileges 
which the schismatics enjoyed. Maca\day, Hist. Eng., vi. 
4. To cut short; abridge. 
ing; the act of removing what is superfluous: 
as, retrenchment of words in a writing. 2. The 
act of curtailing, reducing, or lessening; dim- 
inution; particularly, the reduction of outlay 
or expenses; economy. 
The retrenchment of my expenses will convince you that 
I mean to replace your fortune as far as I can. 
H. Walpole. (Webster.) 
Retrenchment was exactly that form of amendment to 
which the Dandy was most averse. 
W hyte MelMle, White Rose, II. xxvi. 
There is also a fresh crop of difficulties caused for us 
by retrenchment. 
Sir C. W. Dilke, Probs. of Greater Britain, iv. 2. 
3. Milit.: (a) An interior rampart or defensible 
line, comprising ditch and parapet, which cuts 
off a part of a fortress from the rest, and to 
which a garrison may retreat to prolong a de- 
fense, when the enemy has gained partial pos- 
session of the place. Also applied to a traverse or 
defense against flanking fire in a covered way or other 
part of a work liable to be enfiladed. A retrenchment is 
thrown across the gorge of a redan or bastion when there 
is danger that the salient angle will fall into the hands of 
the besiegers. (6) An intrenchment. 
Numerous remains of Roman retrenchments, constructed 
to cover the country. D'Anmlle (trans.). (Webster.) 
= Syn. 1 and 2. Reduction, curtailment, abridgment, 
retrial (re-tri'al), w. [< re- + trial] A second 
trial; repetition of trial: as, the case was sent 
back for retrial. 
Both [departments] hear appeals on points of law only, 
and do not reopen cases, but simply confirm or invalidate 
previous decisions, in the latter event sending them down 
for retrial. Harper's May., LXXVI. 925. 
retributary (re-trib'u-ta-ri), a. [< retribute + 
-ary.] Retributive. 
The great wars of retributary conquest in the land of 
Naharina. Jour. Anthrop. Inst., XIX. 193. 
retributet 
ritribuire, , 
retribuer), give back, restore, repay/ re-, back, 
+ tribuere, assign, give: see tribute. Cf. at- 
tribute, contribute.] I. trans. To restore; pay 
back; return; give in requital. 
I came to tender you the man you have made, 
And, like a thankful stream, to retribute 
All you, my ocean, have enrich'd me with. 
Fletcher (and another), Queen of Corinth, iii. 2. 
In the state of nature, "one man comes by a power 
over another," but yet no absolute or arbitrary power to 
use a criminal according to the passionate heat or bound- 
less extravagancy of his own will ; but only to retribute to 
him, so far as calm reason and conscience dictate, what is 
proportionate to his transgression. 
Locke, Civil Government, ii. 8. 
II. in trans. To make compensation or re- 
quital, as for some past action, whether good 
or bad. 
The gifts of mean persons are taken but as tributes of 
duty it is dishonourable to take from equals, and not to 
retribute. Bp. Hall, Contemplations (ed. T. Tegg)> III. 52. 
retributer (re-trib'u-ter), n. [< retribute + -er l . 
Cf. retributor.] Same as retributor. Imp. Diet. 
retribution (ret-ri-bu'shon), n. [< OF. retri- 
bution, retribucion, F. retribution = Pr. retribu- 
cio = Sp. retribucion = Pg. retribuic.8,0 = It. re- 
tribuzione, < L. retributio(n-), recompense, re- 
payment, < retribnere, pp. retributux, restore, 
repay: see retributi:] 1. The act of retribut- 
ing or paying back for past good or evil ; hence, 
that which is given in return ; requital accord- 
ing to merits or deserts, in present use gene- 
rally restricted to the requital of evil, or pun- 
ishment ; retaliation. 
3t (re-trib'ut), v. [< L. retribuere (> It. 
e, reiribmre = Sp. Pg. Pr. rctribuir = F. 
retrieve 
And lov'd to do good, more for goodness' sake 
Than any retribution man could make. 
Webster, Monuments of Honour. 
The retributions of their obedience must be proportion- 
able to their crimes. 
Bp. Hall, Contemplations (ed. T. Tegg),II. 396. 
If vice receiv'd her retribution due 
When we were visited, what hope for you? 
Cotuper, Expostulation, 1. 247. 
2. In theoL, the distribution of rewards and 
punishments in a future life. 
All who have their reward on earth, the fruits 
Of painful superstition and blind zeal, 
Naught seeking but the praise of men, here find 
Fit retribution, empty as their deeds. 
Milton, P. L., iii. 454. 
Oh, happy retribution ! 
Short toil, eternal rest ; 
For mortals and for sinners 
A mansion with the blest ! 
J. M. Xeale, tr. of Bernard of Cluny. 
Retribution theory, the theory that the condition of the 
soul after death depends upon a judicial award of rewards 
and punishments based upon the conduct pursued and the 
character developed in this life. It is distinguished from 
the theory that the future life is (a) simply a continuance 
of the present (continuance theory); (6) a life of gradual 
development by means of discipline (purgatory), or future 
redemptive influences (future probation). 
On the whole, however, in the religions of the lower 
range of culture, unless where they may have been af- 
fected by contact with higher religions, the destiny of the 
soul after death seems comparatively seldom to turn on a 
judicial system of reward and punishment. Such differ- 
ence as they make between the future conditions of differ- 
ent classes of souls seems often to belong to a remarkable 
intermediate doctrine, standing between the earlier con- 
tinuance theory and the retribution theory. 
E. B. Tylor, Prim. Culture, II. 84. 
= Syn. Vengeance, Retaliation, etc. (see revenge), repay- 
ment, payment. 
retributive (re-trib'u-tiv), a. [< .retribute -4 
-ive.] Making or bringing retribution or requi- 
tal; paying back; conferring reward or punish- 
ment according to desert; retaliative. 
I wait, 
Enduring thus, the retributive hour. 
Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, i. 1. 
retributor (re-trib'u-tor), . [= F. retribvteitr 
= Pg. retribuidor = It. retributore, retribuitore, 
< LL. retributor, recompenser, requiter, < L. re- 
tribuere, recompense : see retribnte.] One who 
dispenses retribution; one who requites ac- 
cording to merit or demerit. 
God is a just judge, a retributor of every man his own. 
Rev. T. Adams, Works, I. 196. 
They had learned that thankfulness was not to be mea- 
sured of good men by the weight, but by the will of the 
retributor. Bp. Hall, Contemplations (ed. T. Tegg), II. 160. 
retributory (re-trib'u-to-ri), a. [< retribute + 
-art/.] Serving as a requital or retribution. 
A price, not countervailable to what he seeks, but re- 
tributory to him of whom he seeks. 
Bp. Hall, Contemplations (ed. T. Tegg), III. 49. 
God's design in constituting them was not that they 
should sin, and suffer either the natural or the retributory 
consequences of so doing. Bibliotheca Sacra, XLVI. 488. 
retrieft, n. See retrieve. 
retrievable (re-tre'va-bl), a. [< retrieve + 
-able. Cf. It. 'ritrovabilc.] Capable of being 
retrieved or recovered. 
Still is sweet sleep retrievable; and still might the flesh 
weigh down the spirit, and recover itself of these blows. 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, vii. 15. 
I ... wish somebody may accept it [the Laureateship] 
that will retrieve the credit of the thing, if it be retrieva- 
ble. Gray, To Mr. Mason, Dec. 19, 1757. 
retrievableness (re-tre'va-bl-nes), n. The 
quality of being retrievable ; susceptibility of 
being retrieved. Bailey, 1727. 
retrievably (re-tre'va-bli), adv. With a possi- 
bility of retrieval or recovery. 
retrieval (re-tre'val), n. [< retrieve + -al.] 
The act or 'process of retrieving; recovery; 
restoration. 
Our continued coinage of standard silver dollars can ac- 
complish nothing of itself for the retrieval of the metal's 
credit The American, XII. 359. 
retrieve (re-treV), r.; pret. and pp. retrieved, 
ppr. retrieving. [Early mod. E. also retrire, re- 
treve ; < OF. retreuver, also retrorer, retrotirer, 
F. retrouver (= It. ritrovarc), find again, recov- 
er, meet again, recognize, < re-, again, + troii- 
rer, find: see trorer. Cf. contrive*.] I. trans. 
1. To find again; discover again; recover; 
regain. 
Fire, Water, and Fame went to travel together (as you 
are going now) ; they consulted, that if they lost one an- 
other, how they might be retrieved and meet again. 
Hmeell, Letters, ii. 14. 
I am sorry the original [of a letter] was not retritv'd from 
him. Kivliiii, To Pepys. 
To retrieve ourselves from this vain, uncertain, roving, 
distracted way of thinking and living, it is requisite to re- 
tire frequently, and to converse much with . . . ourselves. 
Bp. AUerbury. Sermons, I. x. 
