WINCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does wince mean? 

• WINCE (noun)
  The noun WINCE has 2 senses:

1. the facial expression of sudden pain

2. a reflex response to sudden pain

  Familiarity information: WINCE used as a noun is rare.

• WINCE (verb)
  The verb WINCE has 2 senses:

1. draw back, as with fear or pain

2. make a face indicating disgust or dislike

  Familiarity information: WINCE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WINCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The facial expression of sudden pain

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("wince" is a kind of...):

facial expression; facial gesture (a gesture executed with the facial muscles)

Derivation:

wince (make a face indicating disgust or dislike)

wince (draw back, as with fear or pain)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A reflex response to sudden pain

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

flinch; wince

Hypernyms ("wince" is a kind of...):

jump; start; startle (a sudden involuntary movement)

Derivation:

wince (draw back, as with fear or pain)

• WINCE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they wince    ... he / she / it winces   
Past simple: winced   
Past participle: winced   
-ing form: wincing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Draw back, as with fear or pain

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

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

Context example:

she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf

Hypernyms (to "wince" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wince"):

retract; shrink back (pull away from a source of disgust or fear)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

wince (a reflex response to sudden pain)

wince (the facial expression of sudden pain)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a face indicating disgust or dislike

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

She winced when she heard his pompous speech

Hypernyms (to "wince" is one way to...):

grimace; make a face; pull a face (contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

wince (the facial expression of sudden pain)

 Context examples 

A great pull! said Traddles, with a wince, as if he had had a tooth out.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He lay back without wincing, though he bit his lip from time to time.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It made him wince, but he made up his mind to go on and fill the money-bag.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He winced as if in pain.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I like you too well to hurt you,” he said softly—nay, there was a tenderness and a caress in his voice that made me wince.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

She hurried away, and I saw her afterwards seated amongst the bracken, her back turned towards the multitude, and her hands over her ears, cowering and wincing in an agony of apprehension.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The other winced as he read the menace in his eyes.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He slapped the German upon the shoulder with a rough familiarity from which the other winced.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then he proceeded, slowly and carefully, wincing with pain, to the bank.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Striking the turnscrew through the lead with a swift downward stab, which made me wince, he made a small hole, which was, however, big enough to admit the point of the saw.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)