as in to flinch
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
winced at the movie's graphic depiction of combat injuries
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wince
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
8 June 2026
The slot formerly occupied by Milli Vanilli will be taken by a dog whistle, being blown into the microphone very loudly so that everyone winces and covers their ears.
—
Alexandra Petri,
The Atlantic,
3 June 2026
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Apr. 2026
Haugh lets out the occasional wince, twitch and groan as Patterson kneads knotted muscles and purges lactic acid build-up so Florida’s leading scorer and ironman can continue to shoulder his heavy workload.
—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wince
Verb
The Republican Congress — filled with Netanyahu fans and hawks eager to align with Israel — winced.
—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
8 June 2026
The slot formerly occupied by Milli Vanilli will be taken by a dog whistle, being blown into the microphone very loudly so that everyone winces and covers their ears.
—
Alexandra Petri,
The Atlantic,
3 June 2026
Noun
As her mother, Linda Emond's Susan gets only a few moments to shine — and milks every single one for all its worth, doling out wince-worthy advice rooted in real (if outdated) wisdom, as many mothers do.
—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Apr. 2026
Haugh lets out the occasional wince, twitch and groan as Patterson kneads knotted muscles and purges lactic acid build-up so Florida’s leading scorer and ironman can continue to shoulder his heavy workload.
—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wince
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wince
Verb
-
The story does not flinch from the realities of segregation, including the violence that the family faced moving into white neighborhoods in Fort Worth in the 1950s, but there is more hope than fear, more faith in the power of righteousness to defeat injustice, in its pages.
-
Credit card APRs are still parked near record highs, after all, and rates on mortgages and many other loan products have barely flinched, meaning there are big affordability challenges for those who need to borrow money in today's landscape.
Noun
-
He was immortalized in a perpetual full-body muscle flex, and bore the grimace of a guy who really, really wants to pick a fight.
-
And Ahmed, with his fearful eyes and tense grimace, makes for a compellingly sad and isolated figure.
Verb
-
Markets recoiled for a moment, then kept climbing, the Nasdaq tripling before the decade was out.
-
This faith caused the neocons to recoil in from the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Noun
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Numbers might be up, but frowns are also up.
-
Turning a smile into a frown, or a frown into a smile.
Verb
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Enervated cuteness and tryhard sincerity define a whole new wave of musicians, from Pittsburgh rockers feeble little horse to cringe-pop upcycler Worldpeace DMT to SoundCloud producer MASSI, whose songs spill with the tiny adorable detail of a toy train set.
-
While some automotive enthusiasts still cringe at the mention of a continuously variable transmission, Subaru’s execution here is among the better examples in the industry.
Noun
-
His scowl in training sessions was permanent.
-
So just sit and smile, a departure from a career built on scowl.
Noun
-
While the officer's body camera was not recording audio at the time the shots were fired, Schielke said her clients never heard the dog bark or growl.
-
Brith, filled with a sudden dread, stands very still, watching it, and the dog, sensing something, emits a low growl.
Noun
-
In her trademark cat-eye glasses, with her bitter-lemon moue, Hoffman, as Moth, is comedy just standing there; Harada, as Mustardseed, a warmth machine.
-
Not just any moue, either, but a supermoue—a whole cultural attitude distilled into a single boffff.
Cite this Entry
“Wince.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wince. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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