receded
Withdrew to distance
Receded is the past tense of recede, meaning to move back or withdraw from a previous position.
Water recedes after a flood, a hairline recedes as baldness progresses, and fears or hopes may recede as circumstances change.
The floodwaters finally receded after three days.
The word often implies gradual movement away, whether physical or figurative—something becoming more distant in space, time, or importance.
Moved backward from advance
- withdrewPulled out or back
- pulled backWithdrew to prior position
- drew backMoved backward suddenly
- backed awayMoved gradually rearward
retired · fell back · disengaged · recoiled · shrank back · stepped back · moved away · distanced
Made or became smaller
- decreasedBecame smaller in amount
- declinedRefused or diminished
- subsidedDecreased in intensity
- abatedBecame less intense
dwindled · waned · ebbed · faded · tapered · weakened · reduced · shrank
Bodies of liquid
- floodOverwhelming water overflow
- tideOcean's cyclical swell
- shorelineLand-water boundary
- waterlineLevel water reaches
inundation · deluge · overflow · drainage · subsided · low tide · riverbanks · mudflats
retreated
Moved backward from advance
- withdrewPulled out or back
- pulled backWithdrew to prior position
- drew backMoved backward suddenly
backed away · retired · fell back · disengaged · recoiled · shrank back · stepped back · moved away · distanced · evacuated
lessened
Made or became smaller
abated · dwindled · waned · ebbed · faded · tapered · weakened · reduced · shrank · contracted
waters
Bodies of liquid
waterline · inundation · deluge · overflow · drainage · subsided · low tide · riverbanks · mudflats · watermark
faded
Lost original color
hazy · blurred · vague · obscured · past · bygone · remote · misty · indistinct · foggy
baldness
Absence of hair
widow's peak · crown · scalp · follicles · bald spot · hair loss · retreating · sparse · balding · frontal
- diminisheddevalued, lessened, decreased, depreciated, reduced
- pulling backrecoiled, flinched, retreated, withdrew, retracted
- surrenderedsurrendered, capitulated, yielded, conceded, submitted
recededapproached
Moved toward something
advanced · neared · closed in · encroached · loomed
- receding hairlineHair pulling back from forehead
- receding gumsTissue withdrawing from teeth
- receding chinUnderdeveloped lower jaw
- receding watersFlow moving away
recede, precede, preceding, precedent, precedence, receding, recedes