flinch

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flinch

(flĭnch)

intr.v. flinched, flinch·ing, flinch·es

1. To start or wince involuntarily, as from surprise or pain.

2. To recoil, as from something unpleasant or difficult; shrink.

An act or instance of starting, wincing, or recoiling.

[Obsolete French flenchir, of Germanic origin.]

flinch′er n.

flinch′ing·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

flinch

(flɪntʃ)

vb (intr)

1. to draw back suddenly, as from pain, shock, etc; wince: he flinched as the cold water struck him.

2. (often foll by from) to avoid contact (with); shy away: he never flinched from his duty.

3. the act or an instance of drawing back

4. (Card Games) a card game in which players build sequences

[C16: from Old French flenchir; related to Middle High German lenken to bend, direct]

ˈflincher n

ˈflinchingly adv

flinch

(flɪntʃ)

(Fishing) a variant of flense

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

flinch

(flɪntʃ)

v.i.

1. to draw back or shrink, as from something dangerous, difficult, or unpleasant.

2. to shrink or tense under pain; wince.

3. an act of flinching.

[1555–65; probably < Middle French flenchir to divert < Frankish *hlankjan, derivative of *hlanka, flank]

flinch′er, n.

flinch′ing•ly, adv.

flinch

Past participle: flinched
Gerund: flinching

Imperative
flinch
flinch

Present
I flinch
you flinch
he/she/it flinches
we flinch
you flinch
they flinch

Preterite
I flinched
you flinched
he/she/it flinched
we flinched
you flinched
they flinched

Present Continuous
I am flinching
you are flinching
he/she/it is flinching
we are flinching
you are flinching
they are flinching

Present Perfect
I have flinched
you have flinched
he/she/it has flinched
we have flinched
you have flinched
they have flinched

Past Continuous
I was flinching
you were flinching
he/she/it was flinching
we were flinching
you were flinching
they were flinching

Past Perfect
I had flinched
you had flinched
he/she/it had flinched
we had flinched
you had flinched
they had flinched

Future
I will flinch
you will flinch
he/she/it will flinch
we will flinch
you will flinch
they will flinch

Future Perfect
I will have flinched
you will have flinched
he/she/it will have flinched
we will have flinched
you will have flinched
they will have flinched

Future Continuous
I will be flinching
you will be flinching
he/she/it will be flinching
we will be flinching
you will be flinching
they will be flinching

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been flinching
you have been flinching
he/she/it has been flinching
we have been flinching
you have been flinching
they have been flinching

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been flinching
you will have been flinching
he/she/it will have been flinching
we will have been flinching
you will have been flinching
they will have been flinching

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been flinching
you had been flinching
he/she/it had been flinching
we had been flinching
you had been flinching
they had been flinching

Conditional
I would flinch
you would flinch
he/she/it would flinch
we would flinch
you would flinch
they would flinch

Past Conditional
I would have flinched
you would have flinched
he/she/it would have flinched
we would have flinched
you would have flinched
they would have flinched

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	flinch - a reflex response to sudden pain wince startle, jump, start - a sudden involuntary movement; "he awoke with a start"
Verb	1.	flinch - draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf" cringe, funk, quail, recoil, wince, shrink, squinch move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" shrink back, retract - pull away from a source of disgust or fear

flinch

verb

1. wince, start, duck, shrink, cringe, quail, recoil, cower, blench The slightest pressure made her flinch.

2. (often with from) shy away, shrink, withdraw, flee, retreat, back off, swerve, shirk, draw back, baulk He has never flinched from harsh decisions.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

flinch

verb

To draw away involuntarily, usually out of fear or disgust:

blench, cringe, quail, recoil, shrink, shy, start, wince.

noun

An act of drawing back in an involuntary or instinctive fashion:

cringe, recoil, shrink, wince.

Translations

يُحْجِم، يَجْفَل، يَتَراجَع

ucuknout uskočit

zurückzucken

tressaillir

megrándulvisszaretten

hörfa; kveinka sér, kippast viî

tirarsi indietro cèdere indietreggiare

krūptelėti

izvairītiessarauties

krympe seg ved vike tilbake

korkuyla geri çekilmek

畏缩

flinch

[flɪntʃ] VI

1. (= shrink back) → estremecerse
he flinched at the pain → se estremeció del dolor
I flinched when he touched me → cuando me tocó, me estremecí
he struck her hard but she did not flinch → la golpeó con fuerza, pero ni se inmutó
without flinching → sin inmutarse

2. (= shirk) he did not flinch from his responsibilities → no se retrajo de sus obligaciones

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

flinch

[ˈflɪntʃ] vi → tressaillir
to flinch from [+ action] → se dérober à, reculer devant

flinch

(= wince) → zurückzucken; without flinching → ohne mit der Wimper zu zucken

(fig) to flinch from something → vor etw (dat) → zurückschrecken; he flinched from telling her the truth → er scheute sich, ihr die Wahrheit zu sagen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

flinch

[flɪntʃ] vi → trasalire
without flinching → senza batter ciglio
to flinch from sth → tirarsi indietro di fronte a qc

flinch

(flintʃ) verb

to make a sudden movement back or away in fear, pain etc. He flinched away from the sudden heat.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

He did not therefore allow her any hope that he would flinch; only he represented his action as one of simple vengeance.

View in context

Every time she held the skimmer under the pump to cool it for the work her hand trembled, the ardour of his affection being so palpable that she seemed to flinch under it like a plant in too burning a sun.

View in context

Rocke flinched before the steady gaze of those cold enquiring eyes, in which he fancied, too, that a gleam of malice shone.

Besides, what was the use of mincing matters with a man who had all the appearance of a human automaton, who never flinched or changed color, and whose passions seemed dried up and withered things?

View in context

He flinches with the pain, and the picador skips out of danger.

View in context

On went the boat, the poor Tin-soldier keeping himself as stiff as he could: no one should say of him afterwards that he had flinched. The boat whirled three, four times round, and became filled to the brim with water: it began to sink!

View in context

The accused, who was (and who knew he was) being mentally hanged, beheaded, and quartered, by everybody there, neither flinched from the situation, nor assumed any theatrical air in it.

View in context

Seeing this, Don Quixote braced his buckler on his arm, and with his hand on his sword exclaimed, "O Lady of Beauty, strength and support of my faint heart, it is time for thee to turn the eyes of thy greatness on this thy captive knight on the brink of so mighty an adventure." By this he felt himself so inspired that he would not have flinched if all the carriers in the world had assailed him.

View in context

Some shrank and flinched. They stood as men tied to stakes.

View in context

THE new Netflix game show Flinch is worth your time if you want to answer the following question with absolute certainty: What's the most pointless show on television?

no POINT To FLINCH FARCE; in SHORT

Makes you flinch, just looking at it FLINCH NETFLIX THERE'S a stark warning before this latest game show begins.

BEST OF THE REST

In the absurd series, cut for the YouTube generation, eight people face three fiendish games during which they must not flinch. Harder than it sounds.