| Blench 1. (v. i.) To shrink; to start back; to draw back, from lack of courage or resolution; to flinch; to quail. 2. (v. i.) To fly off; to turn aside. 3. (v. t.) To baffle; to disconcert; to turn away; -- also, to obstruct; to hinder. 4. (v. t.) To draw back from; to deny from fear. 5. (n.) A looking aside or askance. 6. (v. i. & t.) To grow or make pale. Thesaurus Entries ache, agonize, ail, anguish, avoid, blanch, bleach, blink, boggle, cringe, decolor, decolorize, demur, dodge, draw back, duck, evade, fade, fall back, falter, feel pain, feel the pangs, fight shy of, flinch, funk, grimace, hang back, hang off, have a misery, have qualms, hesitate, hold off, hurt, jib, make bones about, pause, pound, pull back, quail, recoil, reel back, retreat, scruple, sheer off, shoot, shrink, shrink back, shy, shy at, sidestep, smart, squinch, start, start aside, start back, stick at, stickle, strain, suffer, swerve, thrill, throb, tingle, turn aside, twinge, twitch, waver, weasel, weasel out, white, wince, writhe |