Flinch vs Hesitate - What's the difference?
flinch | hesitate |
A reflexive jerking away.
To make a sudden, involuntary movement in response to a (usually negative) stimulus.
* John Locke
To dodge (a question), to avoid an unpleasant task or duty
To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.
To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination.
To stammer; to falter in speaking.
(transitive, poetic, rare) To utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner.
*
As verbs the difference between flinch and hesitate
is that flinch is to make a sudden, involuntary movement in response to a (usually negative) stimulus while hesitate is to stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination.As a noun flinch
is a reflexive jerking away.flinch
English
Noun
(es)- My eye doctor hates the flinch I have every time he tries to get near my eyes.
Verb
- A child, by a constant course of kindness, may be accustomed to bear very rough usage without flinching or complaining.
References
hesitate
English
Alternative forms
* (archaic)Verb
(hesitat)- He hesitated''' whether to accept the offer or not; men often '''hesitate in forming a judgment.
- (Alexander Pope)
- Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.