flinch

Noun · Verb

US[flinch]/flɪntʃ/1 syllable

Synonyms: wince squinch funk cringe shrink recoil quail

Open English WordNet

Verb (1)flinched, flinching

draw back, as with fear or pain“she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf”Synonyms: squinch funk cringe shrink wince recoil quailMore general moveMore specific shrink back, retract

Noun (1)

a reflex response to sudden painSynonyms: winceType of startle, jump

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Flinch intransitive verb [past tense & past participle Flinched; present participle & verbal noun Flinching.]

Origin: Prob. fr. OE. flecchen to waver, give way, F. fléchir, fr. L. flectere to bend; but prob. influenced by E. blench. Cf. Flex.

1. To withdraw from any suffering or undertaking, from pain or danger; to fail in doing or preserving; to show signs of yielding or of suffering; to shrink; to wince; as, one of the parties flinched from the combat.

A child, by a constant course of kindness, may be accustomed to bear very rough usage without flinching or complaining.— John Locke

2. Croquet To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.

Flinch noun

The act of flinching.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54