re|talia|tory /r I tæ liətəri, [AM ] -tɔːri/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you take retaliatory action, you try to harm or annoy someone who has harmed or annoyed you. [FORMAL ] □ There's been talk of a retaliatory blockade to prevent supplies getting through.
re|tard (retards , retarding , retarded ) The verb is pronounced /r I tɑː r d/. The noun is pronounced /riː tɑː r d/. 1 VERB If something retards a process, or the development of something, it makes it happen more slowly. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] Continuing violence will retard negotiations over the country's future.
2 N‑COUNT If you describe someone as a retard , you mean that they have not developed normally, either mentally or socially. [INFORMAL , OFFENSIVE , DISAPPROVAL ] □ What the hell do I want with an emotional retard?
re|tar|da|tion /riː tɑː r de I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT Retardation is the process of making something happen or develop more slowly, or the fact of being less well developed than other people or things of the same kind. [FORMAL ] □ …other parents whose children had mental retardation.
re|tard|ed /r I tɑː r d I d/ ADJ Someone who is retarded is much less advanced mentally than most people of their age. [OFFENSIVE , OLD-FASHIONED ] □ …a special school for mentally retarded children.
retch /re tʃ/ (retches , retching , retched ) VERB If you retch , your stomach moves as if you are vomiting. □ [V ] The smell made me retch.
retd retd is a written abbreviation for retired . It is used after someone's name to indicate that they have retired from the army, navy, or air force. □ …Commander J. R. Simpson, RN (retd).
re|tell /riː te l/ (retells , retelling , retold ) VERB If you retell a story, you write it, tell it, or present it again, often in a different way from its original form. □ [V n] Lucilla often asks her sisters to retell the story.
re|ten|tion /r I te nʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT [n N ] The retention of something is the keeping of it. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] They supported the retention of a strong central government.
re|ten|tive /r I te nt I v/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you have a retentive memory, you are able to remember things very well. □ Luke had an amazingly retentive memory.
re|think /riː θ I ŋk/ (rethinks , rethinking , rethought )
1 VERB If you rethink something such as a problem, a plan, or a policy, you think about it again and change it. □ [V n] Both major political parties are having to rethink their policies. [Also V ] ● re|think|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …some fundamental rethinking of the way in which pilots are trained.
2 N‑SING If you have a rethink of a problem, a plan, or a policy, you think about it again and change it. [JOURNALISM ] □ [+ of/on ] There must be a rethink of government policy towards this vulnerable group.
re|thought /riː θɔː t/ Rethought is the past tense and past participle of rethink .
reti|cent /re t I sənt/ ADJ Someone who is reticent does not tell people about things. □ [+ about/on ] She is so reticent about her achievements. ● reti|cence N‑UNCOUNT □ Pearl didn't mind his reticence; in fact she liked it.
reti|na /re t I nə/ (retinas ) N‑COUNT Your retina is the area at the back of your eye. It receives the image that you see and then sends the image to your brain.
reti|nal /re t I n ə l/ ADJ [ADJ n] Retinal means relating to a person's retina. [TECHNICAL ] □ …retinal cancer.
reti|nue /re t I njuː, [AM ] -nuː/ (retinues ) N‑COUNT An important person's retinue is the group of servants, friends, or assistants who go with them and look after their needs. □ Mind trainers are now part of a tennis star's retinue. [Also + of ]
re|tire ◆◇◇ /r I ta I ə r / (retires , retiring , retired )
1 VERB When older people retire , they leave their job and usually stop working completely. □ [V ] At the age when most people retire, he is ready to face a new career. □ [V + from ] In 1974 he retired from the museum.
2 VERB When a sports player retires from their sport, they stop playing in competitions. When they retire from a race or a match, they stop competing in it. □ [V + from ] I have decided to retire from Formula One racing at the end of the season. [Also V ]
3 VERB If you retire to another room or place, you go there. [FORMAL ] □ [V + to ] Eisenhower left the White House and retired to his farm in Gettysburg.
4 VERB When a jury in a court of law retires , the members of it leave the court in order to decide whether someone is guilty or innocent. □ [V to-inf] The jury will retire to consider its verdict today.
5 VERB When you retire , you go to bed. [FORMAL ] □ [V ] She retires early most nights, exhausted. □ [V + to ] Some time after midnight, he retired to bed.
6 → see also retired , retiring
re|tired /r I ta I ə r d/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A retired person is an older person who has left his or her job and has usually stopped working completely. □ …a seventy-three-year-old retired teacher from Florida.
2 → see also retire
re|tiree /r I ta I ə riː / (retirees ) N‑COUNT A retiree is a retired person. [mainly AM ] □ …retirees who have completely different expectations of what later life might bring.