How to Use flinch in a Sentence

flinch

verb
  • He flinched when I tapped him on the shoulder.
  • The bill was much higher than expected, but he paid it without flinching.
  • She met danger without flinching.
  • Still a boy, alert to any alteration in the mood, ready to flinch at the first sign of anger.
    Hugo Hamilton, The New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2024
  • However, Rodriguez didn’t flinch and quickly chipped into the deficit.
    Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 20 Feb. 2024
  • Trending on Billboard Esco sported his signature fade with braids tied into a bun without a speckle of gray hair and a hairline that hasn’t flinched an inch.
    Michael Saponara, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2024
  • Rosen stared the top of the draft order in the eye and didn't flinch.
    Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com, 3 Jan. 2018
  • The man hits the child with the belt hard, more than 50 times, as the girl screams and flinches.
    Breanna Edwards, The Root, 8 Dec. 2017
  • The singer held the camera during the process and didn't even flinch.
    Angela Trakoshis, Allure, 21 Sep. 2020
  • My kid takes pots and pans and just slams them and doesn't flinch.
    Emily Krauser, Peoplemag, 6 July 2023
  • And yet, the Big Ten keeps waiting for Fields to flinch.
    Nathan Baird, cleveland, 8 Nov. 2020
  • But the righthander did not flinch when Kapler handed him the ball.
    Matt Breen, Philly.com, 17 May 2018
  • Jankowski turned away at the last minute and Taveras flinched.
    Evan Grant, Dallas News, 29 July 2023
  • The boy doesn't flinch and is shown smiling at the lion.
    Janelle Griffith, NBC News, 31 July 2019
  • Alvin doesn't flinch, doesn't even cast a glance back at his son.
    Dan Egan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2011
  • One of the Lord God, might flinch at staring the manner of his death full in the face.
    Tom Holland, Time, 29 Oct. 2019
  • One man seems to flinch as the yellow hues of dawn break in the background.
    Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post, 31 May 2018
  • Hinch did not flinch, though his voice was thick enough to hint at pain.
    Michael Powell, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2019
  • Who will stand down, who will flinch, who will cross the line, who will get hit?
    Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 June 2020
  • The question is whether China will flinch as the pain mounts.
    The Economist, 14 June 2018
  • Wacha, who played for the Padres last season, didn’t flinch in the moment.
    Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2024
  • Last week, one of them took a field goal to the gonads and barely flinched.
    Chris Chavez, SI.com, 17 Sep. 2017
  • The buck didn’t even flinch after being shot through the heart.
    Pj Delhomme, Outdoor Life, 1 Jan. 2020
  • But Ahmed didn’t flinch, the stoic survivor of a war and no longer a child.
    Kareem Fahim, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2020
  • The sounds of two loud explosions ring out, but the 3-year-old doesn’t flinch.
    Loveday Morris and Anastacia Galouchka, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Mar. 2022
  • And when the Eagles needed to make big plays, Hurts didn't flinch.
    Arkansas Online, 21 Nov. 2022
  • Kaiser then appears to flinch and fires about nine shots into the home.
    Darcy Costello, The Courier-Journal, 26 Apr. 2018
  • Its beak rapped against the pane and made both sisters flinch and chuckle.
    Elisabeth Egan, chicagotribune.com, 10 June 2017
  • Still, that evening in Paris, Butler did not flinch or pull away.
    Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2024
  • As the fourth quarter dawned in Phoenix with Primo still on the floor, the rookie did not flinch.
    Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Dec. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flinch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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