flinch
verb [intransitive]Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they flinch | |
| he / she / it flinches | |
| past simple flinched | |
| past participle flinched | |
| -ing form flinching |
to make a sudden movement with your face or body as a result of pain, fear, surprise, etc. （突然）退缩；畏缩 He met my gaze without flinching. 他毫不畏缩，跟我对视着。 He didn’t even flinch (= wasn’t surprised) when I told him the price. 当我告诉他价格时，他甚至没有退缩。 - flinch at something
He flinched at the sight of the blood. 他一见到血就往后退。 - flinch away
She flinched away from the dog. 她一下子避开了那条狗。
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsc2He hardly flinched when he was hit. 他被击中时几乎都没退缩一下。 Her finger touched the scar on his forehead, making him flinch. 她的手指触到他额头上的伤疤时，他缩了一下。 She flinched inwardly as he took her hand. 他拉她的手时，她心里缩了一下。
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’.