as in to flinch
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
winced at the movie's graphic depiction of combat injuries
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Recent Examples of wince
Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
Those seeking to curbing reliance on gasoline may wince at the findings.
—Frank Witsil, Freep.com, 17 Nov. 2025
Merrill Fabry, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Other examples would make a Soviet propagandist wince.
—Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wince
Verb
Even some on the right have winced at the politics.
—Noun
Others wince at the thought of implants or injections.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for wince
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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In the painting, the skeleton is detailed with firecrackers, flowers on its ribs and a smiling grimace — a detail inspired by a cardboard skeleton Kahlo actually kept in the canopy of her own bed.—
-
Will, in response, contorts his entire face into a terrible grimace.—
Verb
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Generations of scientists, perhaps all with Great Aunt Mildreds who recoiled at the noise, have looked into whether cracking truly bad for our joints or overall health.—
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But the Oscar-winning filmmaker recoils at being called a visionary.—
Noun
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Not a quiver in his lips, yet his frown growing.—
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My best friend Russell is an acupuncturist, and seemed like the perfect person to place my tape, slapping it on my frown lines, crow’s-feet, and nasolabial folds.—
Verb
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Host Jimmy Fallon visibly cringed in response.—
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And then there’s the anti- crowd, who cringe at the thought of having to maintain resolutions after a busy holiday season and work resumes.—
Noun
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Laura Dern’s scowl is one of the great wonders of American movies.—
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As Martha, Close wears all-black outfits and a rigid scowl.—
Noun
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The veteran center has been known to whip a towel at the bench or flip a middle finger at an opponent or growl at his teammates to go away during walk-off interviews.—
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The rumble and growl of the other racers’ engines was growing louder by the minute.—
Noun
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In her trademark cat-eye glasses, with her bitter-lemon moue, Hoffman, as Moth, is comedy just standing there; Harada, as Mustardseed, a warmth machine.—
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Not just any moue, either, but a supermoue—a whole cultural attitude distilled into a single boffff.—
Cite this Entry
“Wince.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wince. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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