# withdrawal

Pronunciation: say "with-DRAW-uhl" US /wɪðˈdɹɔ(ə)l/, UK /wɪðˈdɹɔː(ə)l/

## Noun

1. The act of receiving back money or valuables that one had earlier entrusted to another's care.
   - Simple: The act of taking back money or something you left in another person's care.
   - _The withdrawal of the documents she had left in the lawyer's keeping required two signatures._
   - _Reclaiming the heirlooms from the vault counted as a withdrawal of property held in trust._
2. The amount of cash or funds drawn out of a bank account.
   - Simple: The amount of money that someone takes out of a bank account.
   - _A large withdrawal like that usually triggers a call from the bank._
   - _The teller recorded the withdrawal in the ledger before counting out the bills._
3. A form of metabolic shock the body undergoes when a drug or other substance it has become dependent on is taken away.
   - Simple: The sick, painful feeling the body gets when a drug it depends on is stopped.
   - _The clinic eases patients through withdrawal with carefully tapered doses._
   - _Severe withdrawal can include tremors, sweating, and a racing heart._
4. The act of pulling back or removing oneself from a place or activity, or the state of being remote and emotionally distant.
   - Simple: The act of pulling away from something, or the state of staying apart from other people.
   - _The general ordered a swift withdrawal of troops from the contested border._
   - _Her withdrawal into silence followed weeks of unbroken stress._
5. A method of birth control in which the penis is removed from the vagina before ejaculation to prevent pregnancy.
   - Simple: A way to prevent pregnancy by pulling the penis out before sperm is released.
   - _Health educators warn that withdrawal alone often fails to prevent pregnancy._
   - _They practiced withdrawal for years before switching to a more dependable method._

## Origin

Formed from the verb "withdraw" combined with the suffix "-al".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/withdrawal (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).