List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 315

SYNONYMS: recoil, blench, shrink, flinch.
These verbs all mean to draw back involuntarily, as through fright, timidity, or abhorrence.

To recoil is to spring back; the term can imply a physical motion or an emotional withdrawal or retreat: Those who had felt his strength recoiled from his presence. With a sudden revulsion his heart recoiled from its purpose.
Blench suggests shying away, as to evade something unpleasant or threatening: There were risks that would make a currency dealer blench.
To shrink is to start back instinctively, as in avoidance: The soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.
Flinch denotes a shrinking away from what is unpleasant or difficult; it often implies a faint-hearted retreat, as from a necessary undertaking: We did not flinch but gave our lives.