FLINCH

wince, flinch

(noun) a reflex response to sudden pain

flinch, squinch, funk, cringe, shrink, wince, recoil, quail

(verb) draw back, as with fear or pain; “she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Noun

flinch (plural flinches)

A reflexive jerking away.

(croquet) The slipping of the foot from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.

Verb

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

(intransitive) To make a sudden, involuntary movement in response to a (usually negative) stimulus; to cringe.

To dodge (a question), to avoid an unpleasant task or duty

(croquet) To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.

Etymology 2

Verb

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

Alternative form of flense

Source: Wiktionary

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Flinch, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flinched; p. pr. & vb. n. Flinching.] Etym: [Prob. fr. OE. flecchen to waver, give way, F. fléchir, fr. L. flectere to bend; but prob. influenced by E. blench. Cf. Flex.]

1. To withdraw from any suffering or undertaking, from pain or danger; to fail in doing or perserving; to show signs of yielding or of suffering; to shrink; to wince; as, one of the parties flinched from the combat. A child, by a constant course of kindness, may be accustomed to bear very rough usage without flinching or complaining. Locke.

2. (Croquet)

Definition: To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.

Flinch, n.

Definition: The act of flinching.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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