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flinch 1 [ flinch ] SHOW IPA
/ flɪntʃ / PHONETIC RESPELLING
📓 High School LevelThis shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
Definition of flinch verb (used without object)
to draw back or shrink, as from what is dangerous, difficult, or unpleasant.
to shrink under pain; wince.
Croquet . to let the foot slip from the ball in the act of croqueting.
verb (used with object)
to draw back or withdraw from.
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Origin of flinch 1 First recorded in 1555–65; perhaps nasalized variant of dial. flitch to flit, shift one's position
OTHER WORDS FROM flinch flincher, noun flinch·ing·ly, adverb
Words nearby flinch flightworthy ,
flighty ,
flim ,
flimflam ,
flimsy ,
flinch ,
flinders ,
Flinders bar ,
Flinders grass ,
Flinders Island ,
Flinders Range
Other definitions for flinch (2 of 2)
flinch 2
[ flinch ] SHOW IPA
/ flɪntʃ / PHONETIC RESPELLING
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
Words related to flinch balk ,
blanch ,
blink ,
cower ,
cringe ,
recoil ,
avoid ,
blench ,
crouch ,
duck ,
elude ,
escape ,
eschew ,
evade ,
flee ,
quail ,
recede ,
retire ,
retreat ,
shirk
How to use flinch in a sentence I find it fascinating when friends scoff at a $300 price tag for a mattress that they will spend hundreds of hours sleeping on, but won’t flinch at thousands of dollars for a ski kit that will see dozens of hours of use in a good season.
If either of you flinch es, then don’t count on another six months.
He doesn’t flinch at questions about being identified as a key offender in one of the game’s most infamous cheating scandals during his former job as bench coach of the Houston Astros.
She leaned in and corrected the line of silver above Taylor Jo’s right eye, disturbed a little by the girl’s flinch .
No plans or preparation would have gotten me ready for this kind of adversity, but like I told my wife, we can’t flinch .
In the video, Solange smacks and kicks her brother-in-law while Beyonce DOESN'T EVEN FLINCH .
Kenyatta made a Bush-like vow to continue the war on Al-Shabab, saying, “We will not flinch .”
When I reminded him that that could mean hundreds of offspring showing up on his doorstep, he didn't flinch .
We sat around all night in briefings discussing what each flinch and kick meant for its recovery and if we could save it in time.
We pressed here and watched it kick and then we pressed there and watched it flinch .
Her quiet eyes, held by his during the spell that had bound them speechless, did not flinch at the breaking of it.
From where he sat watching—curious to see what Cash would do—Bud saw him flinch and stiffen as a man does under pain.
He too must work; he must not trust altogether to Texas Smith; the scoundrel might flinch , or might fail.
Two bullets went through the boy's hat; then a splinter cut through his clothes; still he did not flinch .
To tell you the truth, it was something terrible, but though I didn't like it I wouldn't flinch .
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British Dictionary definitions for flinch (1 of 2)
verb (intr)
to draw back suddenly, as from pain, shock, etc; wince he flinched as the cold water struck him
(often foll by from) to avoid contact (with); shy away he never flinched from his duty
noun
the act or an instance of drawing back
a card game in which players build sequences
Derived forms of flinch flincher , noun flinchingly , adverb Word Origin for flinch C16: from Old French flenchir ; related to Middle High German lenken to bend, direct
British Dictionary definitions for flinch (2 of 2)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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