recoil, shrink, flinch, wince, blench, quail mean to draw back in fear or distaste. recoil implies a start or movement away through shock, fear, or disgust.

The difference between recoil operation (lower left) and blowback (upper left). Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked-breech autoloading firearms. Recoil operated …

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RECOIL meaning: 1 : to quickly move away from something that is shocking, frightening, or disgusting to react to something with shock or fear often used figuratively; 2 : to move back suddenly when fired

us / ˈri·kɔɪl, rɪˈkɔɪl / the sudden, backward movement that a gun makes when it is fired (Definition of recoil from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

If something makes you recoil, you move your body quickly away from it because it frightens, offends, or hurts you. For a moment I thought he was going to kiss me. I recoiled in horror.

Definition of recoil verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.