as in flinching
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
winced at the movie's graphic depiction of combat injuries
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Recent Examples of wincing
At times, she’s been shown wincing on the bench.
—
Hailey Salvian, New York Times, 13 May 2026
Turning up the music in get car so that her daughter won’t hear, the grandmother gets out the car, takes a revolver out of her bag, and wincing and turning away, shoots the animal in the head.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 8 Apr. 2026
There was no contact before Doncic stopped, then lay down on the floor while wincing in pain.
—ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
His portrayal of academic life will leave real professors wincing, if not giggling … Despite the obvious research that Martel put into his novel, there are too many gaffes about Homer and Greek epic to persuade any expert.
—Literary Hub, 2 Apr. 2026
Already wincing from the high cost of living, some are going out of their way to spend less at the pump, cooling their jets in long gas lines at Costco and Sam’s Club, downloading the GasBuddy mobile app to scout for the cheapest gas and tapping fuel rewards programs.
—Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
Then, as things dragged on, Goldberg could be seen recoiling and wincing in her chair — and, at one point, fully collapsing backward in protest.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026
As the nation bonded as one over the past two weeks biting nails, screaming at wins, wincing at crashes and choking up at all the beautiful moments of Olympic competition, another group of athletes were – and still are – out honing their multi-level championship skills.
—Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 25 Feb. 2026
Michelle Yeoh is wincing at the thought of collecting her honorary Golden Bear here in Berlin.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
Hailey Salvian, New York Times, 13 May 2026
Turning up the music in get car so that her daughter won’t hear, the grandmother gets out the car, takes a revolver out of her bag, and wincing and turning away, shoots the animal in the head.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 8 Apr. 2026
There was no contact before Doncic stopped, then lay down on the floor while wincing in pain.
—ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
His portrayal of academic life will leave real professors wincing, if not giggling … Despite the obvious research that Martel put into his novel, there are too many gaffes about Homer and Greek epic to persuade any expert.
—Literary Hub, 2 Apr. 2026
Already wincing from the high cost of living, some are going out of their way to spend less at the pump, cooling their jets in long gas lines at Costco and Sam’s Club, downloading the GasBuddy mobile app to scout for the cheapest gas and tapping fuel rewards programs.
—Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
Then, as things dragged on, Goldberg could be seen recoiling and wincing in her chair — and, at one point, fully collapsing backward in protest.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026
As the nation bonded as one over the past two weeks biting nails, screaming at wins, wincing at crashes and choking up at all the beautiful moments of Olympic competition, another group of athletes were – and still are – out honing their multi-level championship skills.
—Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 25 Feb. 2026
Michelle Yeoh is wincing at the thought of collecting her honorary Golden Bear here in Berlin.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wincing
Verb
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Knorr and other team officials were in the room, but Stammen helped lead it without flinching.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
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The Alpha Wave acquisition suggests the Gulf’s biggest dealmakers aren’t flinching at opportunities in the US or being slowed by the war in Iran.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This is typical of Hacks, a series that constantly positions itself to do something emotionally dangerous before recoiling toward a safer version of it.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
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Coinbase’s effort, filled with little nuances and created to emulate the experience of a videogame, might have people welcoming another look rather than recoiling at seeing the spot for the 15th time in a period of just a few days.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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More comics journalism from Life Kit Still cringing about that awkward moment?—
Andee Tagle,
NPR,
25 May 2026
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Try and get through this one without cringing.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wincing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wincing. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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