-ȯ(ə)l noun
( -s )
1.
a. : retreat or retirement especially into a more secluded or less exposed place or position
sought national security in withdrawal from areas of conflict — A.O.Wolfers
their furtive glances, odd silences, and sudden withdrawals into family jocularity and isolation — Virginia Woolf
b. : an operation by which a military force disengages from the enemy
c.
(1) : social or emotional detachment
this immense power of withdrawal , this concentration upon the things of the spirit — Agnes Repplier
(2) : a pathological retreat from objective reality (as in some schizophrenic states)
2. : retraction , revocation
insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology
3. : the act of drawing someone or something back from or out of a place or position
the commission of the League of Nations which supervised the withdrawal of foreigners — Times Literary Supplement
4.
a. : the act of taking back or away something that has been granted or possessed
the withdrawal of storage privileges — American Guide Series: Minnesota
the withdrawal of esteem or love — Abram Kardiner
b. : removal from a place of deposit or investment
made several large withdrawals from the bank within the space of a week
c. : the discontinuance of administration or use of a drug
discomfort resulting from withdrawal of the opiate
the withdrawal effects of barbiturates
d. : coitus interruptus