unflinching
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unflinching
Explanation
Use the adjective unflinching to describe someone who's fearless and steadfast, even when they're facing something very difficult. Martin Luther King, Jr. had an unflinching dedication to fighting injustice. To flinch is to pull away in fear or pain. If you don't flinch while your dad pulls a splinter out of your finger, you're unflinching. This means that you're resolute and unwavering, despite the fact that you may be dealing with something scary (or in this case, painful). Other things are figuratively unflinching, like your unflinching honesty, even in the face of a hostile reaction to what you say.
Vocabulary lists containing unflinching
Tuck Everlasting
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Siddhartha
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Put on a Bold Face: Synonyms for "Brave"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Weisz spoke of “Gardener” source material author John le Carré in her speech, noting on stage that he “wrote this unflinching, angry story.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
In the other, Short holds our gaze, her expression dazed but unflinching.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen told the meeting of global political and business elites that the EU's response would be "unflinching, united and proportional".
From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026
Tragically, none of Ann’s four children lived more than a year past their birth, and the film recounts the close period between all four deaths with astonishing, unflinching honesty.
From Salon • Dec. 27, 2025
Whereas both Haydn and Mozart aimed to reveal human emotions through the filter of a gentlemanly, well-bred composure, the funeral march in Eroica is remarkable for the unflinching grip of its mood.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
