What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Shake vs Flinch - What's the difference?

shake | flinch |

As verbs the difference between shake and flinch

is that shake is to cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly while flinch is to make a sudden, involuntary movement in response to a (usually negative) stimulus.

As nouns the difference between shake and flinch

is that shake is the act of shaking something while flinch is a reflexive jerking away.

shake

English

(wikipedia shake)

Verb

  • (ergative) To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=19 citation , passage=Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.}}
  • To move (one's head) from side to side, especially to indicate a negative.
  • To move or remove by agitating; to throw off by a jolting or vibrating motion.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • Shake off the golden slumber of repose.
  • * (John Bunyan) (1628-1688)
  • I could scarcely shake him out of my company.
  • To disturb emotionally; to shock.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The attack of the MOOCs , passage=Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.}}
  • To lose, evade, or get rid of (something).
  • To move from side to side.
  • *, chapter=23
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking .}}
  • To shake hands.
  • To dance.
  • To give a tremulous tone to; to trill.
  • Derived terms

    * more than one can shake a stick at * shake a leg * shake and bake, shake 'n bake * shake hands * shake off * shake one's ass * shake one's head * shake on it * shake the pagoda tree * shake up

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of shaking something.
  • The cat gave the mouse a shake .
  • A milkshake.
  • A beverage made by adding ice cream to a (usually carbonated) drink; a float.
  • Shake cannabis, small, leafy fragments of cannabis that gather at the bottom of a bag of marijuana.
  • (building material) A thin shingle.
  • A crack or split between the growth rings in wood.
  • A fissure in rock or earth.
  • (informal) Instant, second. (Especially (in two shakes).)
  • *
  • (nautical) One of the staves of a hogshead or barrel taken apart.
  • (Totten)
  • (music) A rapid alternation of a principal tone with another represented on the next degree of the staff above or below it; a trill.
  • A shook of staves and headings.
  • (Knight)
  • (UK, dialect) The redshank, so called from the nodding of its head while on the ground.
  • (Webster 1913)

    Derived terms

    * in two shakes, in two shakes of a cow's tail, etc. * milk-shake * no great shakes * shakemap, shake map * shake table * shakeup, shake-up

    flinch

    English

    Noun

    (es)
  • A reflexive jerking away.
  • My eye doctor hates the flinch I have every time he tries to get near my eyes.

    Verb

  • To make a sudden, involuntary movement in response to a (usually negative) stimulus.
  • * John Locke
  • A child, by a constant course of kindness, may be accustomed to bear very rough usage without flinching or complaining.
  • 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.
  • References