blench
1[ blench ]
/ blɛntʃ /
verb (used without object)
to shrink; flinch; quail: an unsteady eye that blenched under another's gaze.
Nearby words
bleeper, bleeping, blellum, blemish, blemished, blench, blend, blende, blended family, blended learning, blended whiskey
Origin of blench
1before 1000; Middle English blenchen, Old English blencan; cognate with Old Norse blekkja, Middle High German blenken
Related formsblench·er, nounblench·ing·ly, adverb
Definition for blench (2 of 2)
blench
2[ blench ]
/ blɛntʃ /
verb (used with or without object)
to make or become pale or white; blanch.
Origin of blench
2First recorded in 1805–15; variant of blanch1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for blench
British Dictionary definitions for blench (1 of 2)
blench
1/ (blɛntʃ) /
verb
(intr) to shy away, as in fear; quail
Word Origin for blench
Old English blencan to deceive
British Dictionary definitions for blench (2 of 2)
blench
2/ (blɛntʃ) /
verb
to make or become pale or white
Word Origin for blench
C19: variant of blanch
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for blench
blench
Old English blencan "deceive, cheat," from Proto-Germanic *blenk- "to shine, dazzle, blind," from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach (v.)). Sense of "move suddenly, wince, dodge" is from c.1300. Related: Blenched; blenching.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper