recoil

[ verb ri-koil; noun ree-koil, ri-koil ]

/ verb rɪˈkɔɪl; noun ˈriˌkɔɪl, rɪˈkɔɪl /

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See synonyms for: recoil / re-coiled / re-coiling / re-coils on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to draw back; start or shrink back, as in alarm, horror, or disgust.

to spring or fly back, as in consequence of force of impact or the force of the discharge, as a firearm.

to spring or come back; react (usually followed by on or upon): Plots frequently recoil upon the plotters.

Physics. (of an atom, a nucleus, or a particle) to undergo a change in momentum as a result either of a collision with an atom, a nucleus, or a particle or of the emission of a particle.

noun

an act of recoiling.

the distance through which a weapon moves backward after discharging.

OTHER WORDS FOR recoil

1 withdraw, quail, flinch, falter.

2 rebound.

See synonyms for recoil on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of recoil

1175–1225; Middle English recoilen,reculen (v.) <Old French reculer, equivalent to re-re- + -culer, verbal derivative of cul rump, buttocks; see culet

synonym study for recoil

1. See wince¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM recoil

re·coil·ing·ly, adverbnon·re·coil, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH recoil

re-coil, recoil

Other definitions for recoil (2 of 2)

re-coil

[ ree-koil ]

/ riˈkɔɪl /

verb (used with or without object)

to coil again.

Origin of re-coil

First recorded in 1860–65; re- + coil¹

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH re-coil

re-coil , recoil

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use recoil in a sentence

But we recoiled against the idea that the only way to secure them was to work hard enough and long enough to own them.
How Young People Are Destroying Liberty|James Poulos|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As a teenager, I recoiled from this image of my father as a violent mess, and I began to build a better version in my own mind.
Dealing With Dad the Dealer|Tony Doukopil|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I leaned out of the window but recoiled with disgust, for the young man with the pasty face stood below in the churchyard.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I called Tony to thank him, but instead of accepting the thanks he recoiled.
Anthony Lewis’s Cousin Remembers His Kindness to a Young Journalist|Sarah Wildman|March 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST

"He did not say [the Jews], but I watched as the other senators physically recoiled, as did I," he said.
Egypt's President Morsi Warns: Beware the Jewish Controlled Media!|David Frum|January 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Dorothy again caught the furtive glance of the woman's evil eyes, and recoiled from it as if she had trodden upon a snake.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
At the sound Armand recoiled, as at an electric shock, and seized my hand with such force as to give me pain.
Camille (La Dame aux Camilias)|Alexandre Dumas, fils
Seized with affright, the princess recoiled to where an ivory crucifix gleamed on a black velvet background.
Balsamo, The Magician|Alexander Dumas
But he recoiled swiftly, and the arms came together ere falling folded on her bosom.
Balsamo, The Magician|Alexander Dumas
He recoiled from either of these alternatives; and then suddenly, as he racked his brains, a wild idea flashed over him.
Love's Pilgrimage|Upton Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for recoil

recoil

verb (rɪˈkɔɪl) (intr)

to jerk back, as from an impact or violent thrust

(often foll by from) to draw back in fear, horror, or disgustto recoil from the sight of blood

(foll by on or upon) to go wrong, esp so as to hurt the perpetrator

(of a nucleus, atom, molecule, or elementary particle) to change momentum as a result of the emission of a photon or particle

noun (rɪˈkɔɪl, ˈriːkɔɪl)

the backward movement of a gun when fired
the distance moved

the motion acquired by a particle as a result of its emission of a photon or other particle

the act of recoiling

Derived forms of recoil

recoiler, noun

Word Origin for recoil

C13: from Old French reculer, from re- + cul rump, from Latin cūlus

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