QUAILED Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

quailed

verb

past tense of quail

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in cringed

to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission brave resisters who did not quail before the tyrant's iron hand

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for quailed

Verb

The teen in the green sweatshirt, Williams, momentarily flinched from the gunshot.

— Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of flinched

Verb

Even a few Republican loyalists have recoiled at the extravagant pageantry, seemingly designed to flatter Xi and awe a domestic audience, although the absence of TV cameras at the Rose Garden ceremony undermined that low-ambition objective.

— Andy Browne, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2026
The Colts bit on it, but Mahomes recoiled and looked over the middle of the field.

— Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of recoiled

Verb

Ohtani, who hasn’t pitched since July 3 due to lingering knee and biceps issues, winced in pain throughout his eight-pitch at-bat against reliever Riley O’Brien, seeming to strain himself with every muscle flex, let alone big-league hacks.

— Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
My husband walked into the room and winced as one of the women changed into a perfect re-creation of an American Girl–doll outfit (very theater kid, not his thing).

— Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 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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quail

quailed

quailing

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“Quailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quailed. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of quailed

verb

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