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.
Political Gabfest host Emily Bazelon praised the essay’s unflinching candor in exploring her relationship, noting that “it’s the honesty that makes me cry.”
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
Then again, unflinching and sometimes self-important intellectualism is a major aspect of Schoenbrun’s whole oeuvre.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
It is a fast, tireless, unflinching critic that will tell you your best evidence is thinner than you think and hand you the objection you skipped.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Footage of Cunningham coolly staring down and pointing mockingly at one such foe for 22 unflinching seconds following a scuffle last month went viral, launching countless memes.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
I stood outside the car door, unflinching, like a northern kid.
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
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.
