Recede Meaning
/ɹɪˈsiːd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo move back; to retreat; to withdraw.
verbTo cede back; to grant or yield again to a former possessor.
Sentence Examples
My memory of her has begun to recede.
She had begun to recede in my memory.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the storm passed, the flood waters began to ____ from the streets.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
As the floodwaters began to ____, residents were allowed to return to their homes.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English receden, from Middle French receder and its etymon Latin recedere (“to withdraw; to go back”), from re- + cedere (“to go”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Like the hollow roar / Of tides receding from th' insulted shore."
— 1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"All bodies moved circularly have a perpetual endeavour to recede from the center."
— 1725, Richard Bentley, The Folly and Unreasonableness of Atheism:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the storm passed, the flood waters began to ____ from the streets.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
As the floodwaters began to ____, residents were allowed to return to their homes.