recoil :: Lexipedia - Where words have meaning

n. a movement back from an impact

v. spring back, as from a forceful thrust; "The gun kicked back into my shoulder"

spring, bound, rebound, bounce, ricochet, take a hop

v. spring back; spring away from an impact; "The rubber ball bounced"; "These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide"

wince, flinch, quail, squinch, shrink, funk, cringe

v. draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf"

kick

n. a rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics; "the kick must be synchronized with the arm movements"; "the swimmer's kicking left a wake behind him"

jerk, jerking, jolt

n. an abrupt spasmodic movement

backfire, backlash

v. come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; "Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble"

retreat, withdraw, recede, pull back, draw back, move back

v. pull back or move away or backward; "The enemy withdrew"; "The limo pulled away from the curb"

wince, flinch, quail, squinch, recoil, shrink, funk, cringe

v. draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf"

block, stop, halt, kibosh, put the kibosh on

v. stop from happening or developing; "Block his election"; "Halt the process"

shudder, shiver, dither

v. shake, as from cold; "The children are shivering--turn on the heat!"

shy, start suddenly

v. start suddenly, as from fight

crawl, fawn, creep, cringe, cower, grovel

v. show submission or fear

stoop, crouch, bow, bend down

v. bend one's back forward from the waist on down; "he crouched down"; "She bowed before the Queen"; "The young man stooped to pick up the girl's purse"

shrink, shrivel, wither, shrivel up

v. wither, as with a loss of moisture; "The fruit dried and shriveled"

shrink, reduce

v. reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?"

retreat, withdraw, recede, pull back, draw back, move back

v. pull back or move away or backward; "The enemy withdrew"; "The limo pulled away from the curb"

spring, bound, rebound, bounce, recoil, ricochet, take a hop

v. spring back; spring away from an impact; "The rubber ball bounced"; "These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide"

pull, draw, force

v. cause to move by pulling; "draw a wagon"; "pull a sled"

thrust, hurl, lunge, hurtle

v. make a thrusting forward movement

spread, extend, distribute, cause to spread

v. distribute or disperse widely; "The invaders spread their language all over the country"

Using Lexipedia you can visually map out words and concepts in a clean and friendly interface. No more thumbing through a dictionary, or fumbling through a single-word search; with Lexipedia you can see related words, synonyms, antonyms and fuzzynyms. And best of all, it's absolutely free!