Words / C1

FLINCH/flɪntʃ/

To flinch is to draw back suddenly from pain, fear, or an unwelcome fact: flinch from the truth, without flinching. Wince is a close twin (often pain); recoil is stronger; face up to sits opposite. Do not leave the night cohort out of the abstract because the gap is awkward.

Meaning

To make a sudden movement back from pain, fear, or an unwelcome fact.

Examples

• “Do not flinch from naming the missing night cohort in the abstract.”
• “Wince is often physical. Recoil is bigger. Hesitate (already in the dictionary) is delay, not a jerk away. Awkwardness is a feeling. An abstract is a public claim. Name the hole; the feeling can follow.”

Good to know

Draw back; avoid facing it. Close: wince / recoil. Contrast: hesitate (already in the dictionary). Awkward ≠ omit the night n.

Near in meaning

wince

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