as in to wince
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
there are some patients who flinch at the mere sight of a needle
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in recoil
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of flinch
Jayson Jenks, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
Cash flinches from this cascade of consequences.
—Gideon Leek, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
Bryan Washington, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flinch
Verb
When stuff gets hard or when things go sideways, don’t flinch.
—Jayson Jenks, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
Cash flinches from this cascade of consequences.
—Gideon Leek, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
Noun
The shock of it made her flinch.
—Bryan Washington, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flinch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flinch
Verb
-
The hard-drinking, hyper-sensitive Fitzgerald himself would have winced at any of the five adaptations of The Great Gatsby.—
Peter Bart,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Charleigh inwardly winced and froze in place, hand still on the knob.—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Texas basketball coach Sean Miller glanced over the stat sheet after Saturday’s 74-70 home loss to rival Texas A&M with a grimace before stating the obvious.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
21 Jan. 2026
-
So, the publicists, makeup team and fellow members of the press — all of us peering out of the floor-to-ceiling windows with a grimace — begin doing just that.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The recoil and the force of her blow knocked me backwards.—
William D. Brown,
Outdoor Life,
13 Nov. 2025
-
The rifle weighs up to 120 pounds with massive muzzle brakes, producing more than 200 foot-pounds of recoil.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Host Jimmy Fallon visibly cringed in response.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026
-
And then there’s the anti- crowd, who cringe at the thought of having to maintain resolutions after a busy holiday season and work resumes.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Not a quiver in his lips, yet his frown growing.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
3 Dec. 2025
-
My best friend Russell is an acupuncturist, and seemed like the perfect person to place my tape, slapping it on my frown lines, crow’s-feet, and nasolabial folds.—
Lena Dunham,
Vogue,
19 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
In the face of such widespread public revulsion, the administration and its enablers have been trying to invent a terrorist threat to justify their increasingly unpopular siege of Minneapolis.—
Michelle Goldberg,
Mercury News,
20 Jan. 2026
-
Every walk down the street filled him with revulsion.—
Amir Ahmadi Arian,
The Dial,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
His fierce disposition in competition — the scowl, the pumping of fists and the guttural yells after big plays — came in stark contrast to his off-court good nature and broad grins.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
She's got a scowl on her face as Marfisee and her students approach.—
Vanessa Romo,
NPR,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The veteran center has been known to whip a towel at the bench or flip a middle finger at an opponent or growl at his teammates to go away during walk-off interviews.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The rumble and growl of the other racers’ engines was growing louder by the minute.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
10 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flinch. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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