as in to flinch
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
the social worker tried not to recoil from the sight of the cockroach in the bathtub
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in revulsion
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of recoil
Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2025
Now, at least some signs are emerging that both the broader public and leading liberal voices may be recoiling from the doom and gloom.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
When cosmic rays — including, in part, plain old protons from the Sun’s solar wind — strike the Moon, the recoil from those heavy elements knocks them into an excited state.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for recoil
Verb
Trump has been riding roughshod over Washington and voters are recoiling.
—Noun
Nutting will recoil at paying Skenes exorbitant salaries in arbitration, and almost certainly seek a massive return in a trade before losing him as a free agent.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for recoil
Verb
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His comment shouldn’t be interpreted as a postgame shot at an overwhelmed Red Raiders offense and, everything considered, his vaunted defense’s performance hardly resembled a unit that flinched at the challenges.—
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In this Tudor renovation, designer Barrie Benson combined 10 different textiles and prints in a single, orderly viewpoint without flinching.—
Noun
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That revulsion, though, is usually expressed tonally rather than verbally—in the loveless couplings, or in the cold white privacy of yet another bathroom stall.—
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Even House Speaker Mike Johnson, who otherwise has humored Trump at every turn, has expressed revulsion at the idea of a pardon.—
Verb
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In a video of the incident, Tricia lets out a loud scream and winces as the champagne drips from her hair, into her eyes and onto her face.—
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The actress was shown wincing in pain before being escorted out of the ballroom on a stretcher into an ambulance.—
Cite this Entry
“Recoil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recoil. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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