Adjacent Words

Recoil definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RECOIL', v.i.
1. To move or start back; to roll back; as, a cannon recoils when fired; waves recoil from the shore.
2. To fall back; to retire.
3. To rebound; as, the blow recoils.
4. To retire; to flow back; as, the blood recoils with horror at the sight.
5. To start back; to shrink. Nature recoils at the bloody deed.
6. To return. The evil will recoil upon his own head.
RECOIL', v.t. To drive back. [Not used.]
RECOIL', n. A starting or falling back; as the recoil of fire-arms; the recoil of nature of the blood.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired [syn: recoil, kick]
2: a movement back from an impact [syn: recoil, repercussion, rebound, backlash] v
1: draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf" [syn: flinch, squinch, funk, cringe, shrink, wince, recoil, quail]
2: come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; "Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble" [syn: backfire, backlash, recoil]
3: spring back; spring away from an impact; "The rubber ball bounced"; "These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide" [syn: bounce, resile, take a hop, spring, bound, rebound, recoil, reverberate, ricochet]
4: spring back, as from a forceful thrust; "The gun kicked back into my shoulder" [syn: kick back, recoil, kick]

Merriam Webster's

I. intransitive verb Etymology: Middle English reculen, recoilen, from Anglo-French reculer, recuiler, from re- + cul backside — more at culet Date: 14th century 1. a. to fall back under pressure b. to shrink back physically or emotionally 2. to spring back to or as if to a starting point ; rebound 3. obsolete degenerate Synonyms: 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 <recoiled at the suggestion of stealing>. shrink suggests an instinctive recoil through sensitiveness, scrupulousness, or cowardice <shrank from the unpleasant truth>. flinch implies a failure to endure pain or face something dangerous or frightening with resolution <faced her accusers without flinching>. wince suggests a slight involuntary physical reaction (as a start or recoiling) <winced in pain>. blench implies fainthearted flinching <stood their ground without blenching>. quail suggests shrinking and cowering in fear <quailed before the apparition>. II. noun Date: 14th century 1. the act or action of recoiling; especially the kickback of a gun upon firing 2. reaction <the recoil from the rigors of Calvinism — Edmund Wilson>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.intr. 1 suddenly move or spring back in fear, horror, or disgust. 2 shrink mentally in this way. 3 rebound after an impact. 4 (foll. by on, upon) have an adverse reactive effect on (the originator). 5 (of a gun) be driven backwards by its discharge. 6 retreat under an enemy's attack. 7 Physics (of an atom etc.) move backwards by the conservation of momentum on emission of a particle. --n. also 1 the act or an instance of recoiling. 2 the sensation of recoiling. Etymology: ME f. OF reculer (as RE-, L culus buttocks)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Recoil Re*coil", v. t. To draw or go back. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Recoil Re*coil", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Recoiled; p. pr. & vb. n. Recoiling.] [OE. recoilen, F. reculer, fr. L. pref. re- re- + culus the fundament. The English word was perhaps influenced in form by accoil.] 1. To start, roll, bound, spring, or fall back; to take a reverse motion; to be driven or forced backward; to return. Evil on itself shall back recoil. --Milton. The solemnity of her demeanor made it impossible . . . that we should recoil into our ordinary spirits. --De Quincey. 2. To draw back, as from anything repugnant, distressing, alarming, or the like; to shrink. --Shak. 3. To turn or go back; to withdraw one's self; to retire. [Obs.] ``To your bowers recoil.'' --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Recoil Re*coil", n. 1. A starting or falling back; a rebound; a shrinking; as, the recoil of nature, or of the blood. 2. The state or condition of having recoiled. The recoil from formalism is skepticism. --F. W. Robertson. 3. Specifically, the reaction or rebounding of a firearm when discharged. Recoil dynamometer (Gunnery), an instrument for measuring the force of the recoil of a firearm. Recoil escapement See the Note under Escapement.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(recoiled) 1. 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... We are attracted by nice smells and recoil from nasty ones. VERB: V, V from n • Recoil is also a noun. ...his small body jerking in recoil from the volume of his shouting. 2. If you recoil from doing something or recoil at the idea of something, you refuse to do it or accept it because you dislike it so much. People used to recoil from the idea of getting into debt... She recoiled at the number of young girls who had to live by selling their bodies. VERB: V from n, V at n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Rebound, reverberate, react, spring back, fly back, bound back. 2. Retire, retreat, withdraw. 3. Shrink, falter, fail, flinch, blench, quail, draw back. II. n. Resilience, rebound, reaction.

Moby Thesaurus

about the bush, antagonism, antipathy, avoid, avoidance, backfire, backlash, backlashing, backwash, balk, bashfulness, beat around, beg the question, blanch, blench, blink, boggle, boggling, boomerang, bounce, bounce back, bound, bound back, cannon, cannon off, carom, clashing, clout, collision, comeback, compunction, conflict, confutation, contradiction, contraposition, contrariety, contrecoup, counter, counteraction, counterblast, counterblow, counterposition, counterstroke, counterworking, crankiness, cringe, crotchetiness, demur, demurral, diffidence, disapprove of, dissent, dodge, draw back, duck, equivocate, evade, evasion, exchange, fade, fall back, fallback, falter, faltering, fence, fight shy of, flinch, fly back, force, friction, funk, give-and-take, grimace, hang back, hang off, have qualms, have repercussions, hedge, hem and haw, hesitance, hesitancy, hesitate, hesitation, hold off, impact, impress, impression, imprint, interchange, interference, jib, kick, kick back, kickback, lash back, look askance at, make bones about, mark, modesty, nonconformity, objection, opposition, opposure, oppugnance, oppugnancy, parry, pause, perverseness, print, protest, pull away, pull back, pullback, pullout, pussyfoot, put off, quail, quake, qualm, qualm of conscience, qualmishness, reaction, rebound, rebuff, recalcitrance, recalcitrate, recalcitration, reciprocation, reel back, reflex, renitency, repercuss, repercussion, reply, repugnance, repulse, resile, resilience, resistance, response, retaliation, retort, retreat, return, revolt, revolt at, ricochet, scruple, scrupulosity, scrupulousness, shake, sheer off, shift, shift off, show distaste for, shrink, shrink back, shrink from, shrinking, shudder, shudder at, shy, shy at, shy away, shy off, shyness, sidestep, sidestepping, snap back, spring, spring back, squinch, start, start aside, start back, step aside, stick, stick at, stickle, stickling, strain, swerve, swimming upstream, tremble, turn aside, ward off, waver, weasel, weasel out, wince