flinch

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English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /flɪnt͡ʃ/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪntʃ

Etymology 1

From Middle French flenchir (“to bend”), of Germanic origin. Compare Middle High German lenken (“to bend”). Attested in English since the 16th century.

Noun

flinch (plural flinches)

  1. A reflexive jerking away.
    My eye doctor hates the flinch I have every time he tries to get near my eyes.
  2. (croquet) The slipping of the foot from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.
Translations
See also
  • (reflexive jerking away): cringe

Verb

flinch (third-person singular simple present flinches, present participle flinching, simple past and past participle flinched)

  1. (intransitive) To make a sudden, involuntary movement in response to a (usually negative) stimulus; to cringe.
  2. To dodge (a question), to avoid an unpleasant task or duty
  3. (croquet) To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.
Derived terms
Translations

References

Etymology 2

Verb

flinch (third-person singular simple present flinches, present participle flinching, simple past and past participle flinched)

  1. Alternative form of flense

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia