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RETIRING
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I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Reluctant to draw attention to yourself
Synonyms:
reticent; retiring; self-effacing
Classified under:
Similar:
unassertive (inclined to timidity or lack of self-confidence)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Of a person who has held and relinquished a position or office
Example:
a retiring member of the board
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
outgoing (leaving a place or a position)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Not arrogant or presuming
Example:
a shy retiring girl
Synonyms:
retiring; unassuming
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
modest (marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb retire
Context examples:
He was a singular man, fierce and quick-tempered, very foul-mouthed when he was angry, and of a most retiring disposition.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
This was enough to determine Sir Thomas; and a decisive then so it shall be closed that stage of the business; Sir Thomas retiring from it with some feelings of satisfaction, and views of good over and above what he had communicated to his son; for his prime motive in sending her away had very little to do with the propriety of her seeing her parents again, and nothing at all with any idea of making her happy.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
You may be able to confirm what I have said, Mr. Traddles, observed Miss Lavinia, evidently taking a new interest in him, of the affection that is modest and retiring; that waits and waits?
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
The young gal was re-engaged; but on the stipulation that she should only bring in the dishes, and then withdraw to the landing-place, beyond the outer door; where a habit of sniffing she had contracted would be lost upon the guests, and where her retiring on the plates would be a physical impossibility.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
He never saw my aunt without immediately displaying every tooth in his head, retiring under a chair, and growling incessantly: with now and then a doleful howl, as if she really were too much for his feelings.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Ham watched the sea, standing alone, with the silence of suspended breath behind him, and the storm before, until there was a great retiring wave, when, with a backward glance at those who held the rope which was made fast round his body, he dashed in after it, and in a moment was buffeting with the water; rising with the hills, falling with the valleys, lost beneath the foam; then drawn again to land.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
He was a sober, steady-looking young man of retiring manners, with a comic head of hair, and eyes that were rather wide open; and he got into an obscure corner so soon, that I had some difficulty in making him out.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
