flinch

verb \ ˈflinch \

|Updated on: 7 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: flinch in a Sentence

Definition of flinch

flinched; flinching; flinches

intransitive verb

: to withdraw or shrink from or as if from pain : wince

He flinched when he was presented with the car repair bill.

; also : to tense the muscles involuntarily in anticipation of discomfort

I cannot help flinching when I hear the dentist's drill.

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flinch

noun

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flincher

noun

See flinch defined for English-language learners

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Examples of flinch in a Sentence

He flinched when I tapped him on the shoulder.
She met danger without flinching.
The bill was much higher than expected, but he paid it without flinching.

Recent Examples of flinch from the Web

Individuals who are courageous in that interpretative approach and are not going to flinch.

— Fox News, "What Trump is looking for in his next Supreme Court justice," 28 June 2018
The question is whether China will flinch as the pain mounts.

— The Economist, "China’s tighter regulation of shadow banks begins to bite," 14 June 2018
Despite many experts questioning the Wyoming's product's accuracy and 56.2 career completion percentage, Kiper isn't flinching.

— dan labbe, cleveland.com, "Which free agent quarterback fits the Browns? (video)," 21 Feb. 2018
Andrew flinched from the pretend burn, shook his hands pretend cool.

— david gilbert, The New Yorker, "Fungus," 4 June 2017
Just the same, Weber isn’t flinching at the looming expectations.

— vahe gregorian, kansascity, "K-State's Bruce Weber now must meet expectations instead of defying them," 1 June 2018
Her stick flinched right, for a nanosecond, then came back to the left; by that time, Szabados was already confused, and Lamoureux could have just backhanded the shot.

— sean gregory/pyeongchang, Time, "The 8 Craziest Things I Saw At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang," 26 Feb. 2018
David Ryder / Getty Images Amazon played chicken with the city of Seattle, and the city flinched — but didn’t bow down completely.

— jason del rey, Recode, "The new “head tax” is aimed at addressing the city’s homelessness crisis.," 15 May 2018
Cole leered into the plate seconds after the call, not flinching from the finish of his follow-through.

— chandler rome, Houston Chronicle, "Astros' Gerrit Cole fans 16 in one-hit shutout of Diamondbacks," 5 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flinch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of flinch

Middle French flenchir to bend, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle High German lenken to bend, Old High German hlanca flank — more at lank

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1578

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

flinch Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of flinch

recoil, shrink, flinch, wince, blench, quail mean to draw back in fear or distaste. recoil implies a start or movement away through shock, fear, or disgust.