flinch Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a reflex response to sudden pain
wince.
verb draw back, as with fear or pain
squinch; recoil; wince; quail; cringe; shrink; funk.
- she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf

Prob. fr. OE. flecchen to waver, give way, F. fléchir, fr. L. flectere to bend; but prob. influenced by E. blench. Cf. Flex.

imperfect & past participle Flinched ; present participle & verbal noun Flinching

To withdraw from any suffering or undertaking, from pain or danger; to fail in doing or perserving; to show signs of yielding or of suffering; to shrink; to wince; as, one of the parties flinched from the combat.
A child, by a constant course of kindness, may be accustomed to bear very rough usage without flinching or complaining. Locke.
(Croquet) To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.