1 flinch (at sth);flinch (away) to make a sudden movement backwards because of sth painful or frightening （因痛楚或害怕而）向后移动，畏缩: She couldn't help flinching away as the dentist came towards her with the drill. 牙医拿着钻子朝她走来的时候，她禁不住往后缩。

2 flinch from sth/doing sth to avoid doing sth because it is unpleasant 避免做（令人不快的事）: She didn't flinch from telling him the whole truth. 她没有回避，把真相全告诉他。