I still wince at the thought of that terrible evening.wincewince /wɪns/ verb [intransitive] 
Sandra winced as the dentist started to drill.2to suddenly feel very uncomfortable or embarrassed because of something that happens, something you remember etc SYN cringewince at the memory/thought/idea I still wince at the thought of that terrible evening.—wince noun [singular]
WORD ORIGINwince
Origin:
1200-1300 Old North French wenchier ‘to be impatient, move about suddenly’VERB TABLE
wince
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | wince |
| he, she, it | winces | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | winced |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have winced |
| he, she, it | has winced | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had winced |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will wince |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have winced |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am wincing |
| he, she, it | is wincing | |
| you, we, they | are wincing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was wincing |
| you, we, they | were wincing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been wincing |
| he, she, it | has been wincing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been wincing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be wincing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been wincing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- When he laughed, he winced with pain.
- Fred often winced when he witnessed his wife's impudence and guile, but he realised she was right.
- Halting in front of the mirror in the front room, the mirror that he had forced her to stare into, she winced.
- He undressed, then crawled be-tween the gritty sheets, wincing with each creaking spring.
- His microphone whistled a little and Sally winced in embarrassment.
- I winced as the engine caught.
- Ralph winced, turned his attention to another man, a man drawing a woman over to his stool.
- She winced at their infelicities, at the clumsy way they beat about the bush.
- We drank and winced and waited for the lesson to begin.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY I still wince at the thought of that terrible evening.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1to suddenly change the expression on your face as a reaction to something painful or upsetting: I still wince at the thought of that terrible evening. (=be upset by remembering something)· She shuddered at the memory of her parents fighting.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· She winced, smarting beneath memories of Giles's disbelief and the greedy delight that had turned to frustrated irritation.· She bit her lip, wincing at the memory of her resentful scheming.· He winced at the memory as he hammered on the steel and then looked through the spy port.
· He winced with pain and made to grab at her.· Rubbing his cheekbones in slow circles, he winces with pain at the sight of his own ugly mug.· He tried once or twice before hopping to the farmhouse, wincing in pain whenever he jolted the injured ankle.· She winced in pain as she felt a shock across her back at the impact.· We used to watch the game together and I'd suddenly see him wince in pain.· He winced in pain as he climbed down the staircase leading on to the tarmac, where an airline bus awaited him.· It had thorns like daggers, Sabine discovered, wincing with the pain of her torn fingers.· Without consideration he ripped the tape from her skin so that she winced with the searing pain.
VERB· It was the surprise and indignity of watching the yellow stain spread which made me wince.· Miguel scowled and the pain this caused made him wince.· From that time, his anti-Semitism grew so shrill and scurrilous that its virulence still makes one wince.· Some of the murders will make you wince.· It was a continual clanking, rotating sound, a whirring rhythmic, steel-against-steel sound that made your teeth wince.
· We used to watch the game together and I'd suddenly see him wince in pain.· I glanced over at Kip again and saw him wince when he weighed down on the pedal with his hurt foot.
Sandra winced as the dentist started to drill.2to suddenly feel very uncomfortable or embarrassed because of something that happens, something you remember etc SYN cringewince at the memory/thought/idea I still wince at the thought of that terrible evening.—wince noun [singular]