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FLINCH
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A reflex response to sudden pain
Synonyms:
flinch; wince
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("flinch" is a kind of...):
jump; start; startle (a sudden involuntary movement)
Derivation:
flinch (draw back, as with fear or pain)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they flinch ... he / she / it flinches
Past simple: flinched
Past participle: flinched
-ing form: flinching
Sense 1
Meaning:
Draw back, as with fear or pain
Example:
she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf
Synonyms:
cringe; flinch; funk; quail; recoil; shrink; squinch; wince
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "flinch" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "flinch"):
retract; shrink back (pull away from a source of disgust or fear)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Derivation:
flinch (a reflex response to sudden pain)
Context examples:
But when he heard himself say this, he flinched and began to cry "Oh, my God!" again in his groaning voice. Michaelis made a clumsy attempt to distract him.
(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
