retraction vs backdown

retraction and backdown both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
retraction	Yes	No	No	No
backdown	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, backdown is a hyponym of retraction; that is, backdown is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than retraction:

Other hyponyms of retraction include climb-down, withdrawal.

retraction (noun)	backdown (noun)
the act of pulling or holding or drawing a part back	a retraction of a previously held position
a disavowal or taking back of a previous assertion