recoil
noun
1. the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired
Similar word(s): kick
Definition categories: event, motion, movement
2. a movement back from an impact
Similar word(s): backlash, rebound, repercussion
Definition categories: event, motion, movement
Sentences with recoil as a noun:
- the recoil of nature, or of the blood
verb
1. draw back, as with fear or pain
Similar word(s): cringe, flinch, funk, quail, shrink, squinch, wince
Definition categories: motion, move
2. come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect
Similar word(s): backfire, backlash
Definition categories: social, hap, happen, occur, pass
3. spring back; spring away from an impact
Similar word(s): bounce, bound, rebound, resile, reverberate, ricochet, spring
Definition categories: motion, bound, jump, leap, spring
4. spring back, as from a forceful thrust
Similar word(s): kick
Definition categories: contact, bounce, bound, rebound, recoil, resile, reverberate, ricochet, spring