flinch
verb /flɪntʃ/
/flɪntʃ/
[intransitive]Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they flinch | /flɪntʃ/ /flɪntʃ/ |
| he / she / it flinches | /ˈflɪntʃɪz/ /ˈflɪntʃɪz/ |
| past simple flinched | /flɪntʃt/ /flɪntʃt/ |
| past participle flinched | /flɪntʃt/ /flɪntʃt/ |
| -ing form flinching | /ˈflɪntʃɪŋ/ /ˈflɪntʃɪŋ/ |
- to make a sudden movement with your face or body as a result of pain, fear, surprise, etc.
- He met my gaze without flinching.
- He didn’t even flinch (= wasn’t surprised) when I told him the price.
- flinch at something He flinched at the sight of the blood.
- flinch away She flinched away from the dog.
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsc2- He hardly flinched when he was hit.
- Her finger touched the scar on his forehead, making him flinch.
- She flinched inwardly as he took her hand.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- barely
- hardly
- almost
- …
- make somebody
- at
- from
- with
- …
Word Originmid 16th cent. (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’.