flinching
adjective
[ ˈflɪn(t)ʃɪŋ ]
• making a quick, nervous movement as an instinctive reaction to fear, pain, or surprise.
• "he gave a flinching sideways glance, as if he were about to be reprimanded"
flinching
noun
• the making of a quick, nervous movement as an instinctive reaction to fear, pain, or surprise.
• "there can be no flinching in the face of our duty"
flinch
verb
• make a quick, nervous movement as an instinctive reaction to fear, pain, or surprise.
• "she flinched at the acidity in his voice"
Similar:
wince,
start,
shy (away),
recoil,
shrink,
pull back,
back away,
shy away,
draw back,
withdraw,
blench,
cringe,
squirm,
quiver,
shudder,
shiver,
tremble,
quake,
shake,
quail,
cower,
waver,
falter,
hesitate,
get cold feet,
blanch,
Opposite:
stand firm,
Origin:
mid 16th century (in the sense ‘slink or sneak off’): from Old French flenchir ‘turn aside’, of West Germanic origin and related to German lenken ‘to guide, steer’.
