flinch
1[ flinch ]
/ flɪntʃ /
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.
noun
an act of flinching.
RELATED WORDS
blanch, balk, cower, blink, recoil, cringe, swerve, crouch, escape, avoid, retire, recede, evade, elude, start, eschew, blench, withdraw, duck, shun
Nearby words
- flighty,
- flim,
- flim-flam,
- flimflam,
- flimsy,
- flinders,
- flinders bar,
- flinders grass,
- flinders island,
- flinders petrie, sir william matthew
Origin of flinch
1First recorded in 1555–65; perhaps nasalized variant of dial. flitch to flit, shift one's position
flinch
2[ flinch ]
/ flɪntʃ /
verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for flinch
flinch
1/ (flɪntʃ) /
verb (intr)
to draw back suddenly, as from pain, shock, etc; wincehe flinched as the cold water struck him
(often foll by from) to avoid contact (with); shy awayhe never flinched from his duty
noun
the act or an instance of drawing back
a card game in which players build sequences
Word Origin for flinch
C16: from Old French flenchir; related to Middle High German lenken to bend, direct
verb
a variant of flense
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
flinch
1570s, from obsolete flecche "to bend, flinch," probably from Old French flenchir "to bend," probably from Frankish *hlankjan or some other Germanic source (cf. Middle High German linken, German lenken "to bend, turn, lead"), from PIE root *kleng- "to bend, turn" (see link (n.)). Related: Flinched; flinching. As a noun, from 1817.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper