flinch

Use flinch in a sentence

verb

Flinch is defined as to make a quick motion of the body moving away out of surprise or fear.

When you fear a ball flying past your head and coming at you and you duck back a bit out of fear, this is an example of a time when you flinch.
When you shy away from participating in an activity because you are nervous, this is an example of a time when you flinch.

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"flinch." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/FLINCH>.

APA Style

flinch. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/FLINCH

flinch

to draw back, as from a blow, difficulty, etc.
to wince, as from pain

Origin of flinch

earlier also flench from Old French flenchir, to bend aside from Frankish an unverified form hlankjan, akin to German lenken, Old English hlencan, to twist, bend: see lank

an act of flinching

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MLA Style

"flinch." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/FLINCH>.

APA Style

flinch. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/FLINCH

flinch

intransitive verb

flinched, flinch·ing, flinch·es

To start or wince involuntarily, as from surprise or pain.
To recoil, as from something unpleasant or difficult; shrink.

noun

An act or instance of starting, wincing, or recoiling.

Origin of flinch

Obsolete French flenchir of Germanic origin

Related Forms:

flinch′er
noun

flinch′ing·ly
adverb

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"flinch." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/FLINCH>.

APA Style

flinch. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/FLINCH

Noun

(plural flinches)

A reflexive jerking away.
My eye doctor hates the flinch I have every time he tries to get near my eyes.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present flinches, present participle flinching, simple past and past participle flinched)

To make a sudden, involuntary movement in response to a (usually negative) stimulus.
To dodge (a question), to avoid an unpleasant task or duty
To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.

Origin

Compare Gothic (filhan), Icelandic fela (“to hide”)

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.