flinchingly
- adverb
- /ˈflɪnʧɪŋli/
- He approached the edge of the cliff flinchingly, worried about the height.
Examples
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The dog flinchingly backed away when the thunder roared outside.
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She flinchingly turned away from the loud noise, afraid it might be something dangerous.
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Amanda usually took the wrong bus to get to interviews and usually arrived flinchingly late.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
Behave in a quiet, nervous way around other people
Showing that you are afraid
In a nervous, worried way that shows stress
In a worried way because you think something bad may happen
Making a quick face of pain or embarrassment
In a slow, unsure way that shows doubt
To act in a shy and scared way
In a way that shows shaking from fear, cold, or weakness
To do something in a nervous or afraid way
In a way that shows fear, for example by looking worried or speaking softly
In a way that shows discomfort or nervousness by moving restlessly
Antonyms
How Hesitant
Surface Forms
Morphology
flinchingly = flinching (transparent) = flinch + ing + ly
Formed regularly from 'flinch' + '-ing' (participle) then '-ly' to create an adverb meaning 'in a flinching manner'.
Etymology
Flinchingly comes from the verb flinch, which means 'to pull back' or 'shrink' from pain or fear, like when you 'wince'. So flinchingly describes doing something while you pull back or show fear.