flinch

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

reflexive jerking away

• Arabic: جَفَل m (jafal)
• Bulgarian: трепване (bg) n (trepvane)
• Czech: cuknutí n, ucuknutí n, škubnutí n
• Dutch: terugdeinzen (nl)
• Finnish: säpsähdys (fi)
• Galician: arreguizo, arrepío, estremecemento (gl)
• German: Zucken (de) n, Zurückzucken n, Zurückschrecken n, Zusammenfahren n
• Russian: вздра́гивание (ru) n (vzdrágivanije)
• Slovak: cuknutie n, myknutie n, trhnutie n, šklbnutie n

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.
   • 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.

Derived terms

• two for flinching

Translations

to make a sudden, involuntary movement in response to a stimulus

• Bulgarian: трепвам (bg) (trepvam), дръпвам се (drǎpvam se)
• Czech: ucuknout pf, trhnout sebou pf
• Dutch: terugdeinzen (nl)
• Esperanto: eksalti
• Finnish: kavahtaa (fi), säpsähtää
• French: broncher (fr), sursauter (fr)
• Galician: arreguizarse, arrepiarse, estremecerse
• German: zucken (de), zurückzucken (de), zurückschrecken (de), zurückweichen (de), zusammenzucken (de), wanken (de), zusammenfahren (de)
• Greek: αναπηδώ (el) (anapidó)

  Ancient: ἀναπηδῶ (anapēdô)

• Irish: cúlaigh, creathnaigh
• Italian: sussultare (it)
• Japanese: 怯む (ja) (hirumu)
• Maori: wīwī, toemi, kōrapa, koemi, maopo
• Middle English: schrynken
• Ottoman Turkish: پوصمق (pusmak)
• Polish: wzdrygać się impf, wzdrygnąć się pf
• Portuguese: estremecer (pt)
• Russian: вздра́гивать (ru) impf (vzdrágivatʹ), вздро́гнуть (ru) pf (vzdrógnutʹ), содрога́ться (ru) impf (sodrogátʹsja), содрогну́ться (ru) pf (sodrognútʹsja)
• Serbo-Croatian: cimnuti (sh) pf (reflexive), lecnuti (sh) pf (reflexive), trznuti (sh) pf (reflexive)
• Slovak: cuknúť sa, myknúť sa, trhnúť sa
• Slovene: trzniti (sl)
• Spanish: estremecerse (es), reaccionar (es)
• Swedish: rycka till (sv)

to avoid doing something momentarily

• Czech: couvnout pf, ucuknout pf, vyhnout se (cs) pf
• German: sich entziehen (de)
• Maori: kōrapa
• Russian: увильнуть (ru) pf (uvilʹnutʹ)
• Slovak: vyhnúť sa

References

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

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

• “flinch”, in Collins English Dictionary.