quailed

verb

past tense of quail
1
as in flinched
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust we quailed when the waiter unexpectedly presented us with a hindquarter of frog's legs

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cringed
to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission brave resisters who did not quail before the tyrant's iron hand

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for quailed
  1. flinched
  2. cringed
  3. recoiled
  4. winced
Verb
  • Sipp slightly flinched his left arm before throwing a pitch to Emmanuel Burriss, allowing Miguel Tejada to score and sending San Francisco to its fourth straight win.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026
  • The kid never flinched, played almost every game.
    — David Aldridge, New York Times, 21 June 2026
Definition of flinched
Verb
  • Mingione cringed when asked if any of his players had gotten hurt by a hit by pitch.
    — Mitch Light, New York Times, 22 May 2026
  • For a decade, viewers have cringed at Amanda Batula and Kyle Cooke’s rocky relationship, the dénouement of which is currently playing out on season ten of Summer House.
    — Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
Definition of cringed
Verb
  • When councilman Steve Novick threatened to sue, the Blazers recoiled and became obstinate.
    — Jason Quick, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • Markets recoiled for a moment, then kept climbing, the Nasdaq tripling before the decade was out.
    — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 23 June 2026
Definition of recoiled
Verb
  • The French superstar winced after a free kick sailed over the goalpost in the 88th minute.
    — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 July 2026
  • The original originalists, the Constitution’s framers, would have winced.
    — George F. Will, Washington Post, 1 July 2026
Definition of winced
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Quailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quailed. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on quailed

Nglish: Translation of quailed for Spanish Speakers

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