withdrawn

1. 1
   verb

   Past participle of withdraw.

   The troops were withdrawn from the border after the ceasefire.

   All of the original funding had been withdrawn by the end of the year.

   Note

   An irregular participle that follows draw itself: withdraw, withdrew, withdrawn. Withdrew is the simple past, never the participle. The verb takes have in perfect tenses (she has withdrawn her offer) and be in the passive (the troops were withdrawn). Because the verb is transitive, there is nearly always an object or a passive subject: money, permission, soldiers, even one's eyes.

2. 2
   adjective

   Introverted and not inclined to interact with others; tending to keep to oneself.

   Like a turtle that pulls back into its shell when the world feels too close.

   The normally cheerful boy grew withdrawn in the months after his father's death.

   New residents can seem withdrawn until they adjust to unfamiliar surroundings.

   Similarintroverted, reserved, shy, uncommunicative, reclusive

   Oppositeoutgoing, sociable, extroverted, gregarious

   Note

   Psychology uses it for a pulling-back from other people. That can be a settled trait of low sociability or a feature noticed in depressed or anxious states. It describes a person or their manner (a withdrawn child). It grades freely (more withdrawn, most withdrawn), and it suggests someone who has drawn back into themselves. That sense of retreat sets it apart from the library label, where something has been taken away.

3. 3
   adjective

   Removed from circulation and no longer available for use, borrowing, or exchange.

   Like coins pulled out of everyday use and locked away in a vault.

   Several outdated volumes were stamped as withdrawn and pulled from the shelves.

   Withdrawn banknotes can still be redeemed at the central bank for a limited time.

   Similardiscontinued, retired

   Oppositecurrent

   Note

   A librarian's label more than a description: a withdrawn library book has been taken out of the collection, usually because it is worn or superseded. The same word covers currency that a monetary authority has retired from public use. It is the participle of withdraw in its "take back" sense, hardened into a status, and it usually sits before the noun, as in a withdrawn volume.

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