flinch

• IPA^(key): /flɪnt͡ʃ/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• Rhymes: -ɪntʃ

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

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.

• (reflexive jerking away): cringe

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.
   • 1693, [John Locke], “(please specify the section number)”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:

     A child, by a constant course of kindness, may be accustomed to bear very rough usage without flinching or complaining.

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.

• two for flinching

• “flinch”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “flinch”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

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

1. Alternative form of flense

• “flinch”, in Collins English Dictionary.