as in to wince
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
there are some patients who flinch at the mere sight of a needle
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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as in recoil
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of flinch
Caroline Framke, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2024
People gawk and flinch on the subway; a comely neighbor, Ingrid (Renate Reinsve), upon meeting him, lets out an involuntary shriek.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024
The sports action is visceral and looks painfully real, the violent force of slams and flips likely causing many in the audience to flinch.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2024
And then there are the stems by defensive linemen pre-snap, basically late movement at the line of scrimmage designed to get offensive linemen to flinch.
—Pete Sampson, The Athletic, 29 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flinch 
Verb
But Billy still flinches when Agatha, admittedly projecting a whole lot of her own childhood-trauma junk onto him, delivers a passionate speech about how Billy shouldn’t feel guilty for anything he’s done while just trying to survive.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for flinch
Verb
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Eilish winced upon its impact, turning her head to show palpable disappointment.Caroline Thayer, Fox News, 16 Dec. 2024
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The two of them winced when a gunman raised his rifle with one hand into the air and let loose a salvo.Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The researchers found that when people fake pain, their mouth-opening action during grimaces is too regular.IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 20 Mar. 2014
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There’s no need to ask for his further blessings, and having noticed Philip’s many grimaces of disapproval in the background of Eddie’s selfies, Elsbeth and Kaya decide to attend a performance themselves, sitting in his late grandmother’s seats.Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The new wipe looks set to bring a lot of new toys to play with, including new weapons, a new recoil system that is currently being tested and a rework to the Customs map, which remains the best map in Tarkov by some way.Mike Stubbs, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
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And during Trump's first term, his child separation policy created an angry public recoil, with polling numbers at almost the exact same level as Bush's Social Security privatization.Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Between the use of a speedboat as a weapon, the unceremonious and shocking murder of Billy Magnussen's big bad, and all that aggressive stabbing with a shard of wood, director Doug Liman made sure to keep audiences gasping and cringing until the very end.EW Staff, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2024
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The small market teams are cringing for a number of reasons these days - the deferred money being thrown around by the Dodgers, the daunting Soto sweepstakes and the huge amount of leftover cash that will be spread around a number of far inferior bats, to name a few.Tony Blengino, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Just seeing your boss pass you in the hall with a frown can completely, and chemically, alter your mood.Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
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Dolly sported the biggest frown, with her ears pinned back.Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
Noun
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In episode six, the last one before the next batch of Love Is Blind becomes available next week, her annoyance and frankly, revulsion, with her new fiancé becomes more and more palpable.Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 2 Oct. 2024
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Her germ phobia may have infected Simone with her lifelong revulsion at bodily contact.Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Unlike a regular low-budget diner, sitting at an empty booth gave you scowls and little or no service.Ana Gutierrez, Austin American-Statesman, 31 Oct. 2024
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The New Orleans rapper was shirtless in both photos, sporting an incredulous expression in the first and an angry scowl in the second.Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 11 Sep. 2024
Noun
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This Max Max style road race never fails to elicit gasps of wonder and growls of friendly frustration when the dice come up in an unexpected way.Rob Wieland, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024
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With quarterback Fernando Mendoza sidelined by an overnight illness, the Bears had no growl on offense at No. 9 SMU, trailing 21-0 at halftime on the way to a 38-6 defeat in their regular-season finale.Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 30 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Flinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flinch. Accessed 28 Dec. 2024.
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