<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Some random thought on these words, as a native English speaker…<div><br></div><div>I tend to think wince is more related to pain; wince and flinch are faster reactions, prompted by physical causes. Cringing seems more prompted by visual/mental causes, and can be more drawn out. Flinch is the most likely to be “purely” by reflex, followed by wince, then cringe.<br><br><div dir="ltr">Russ<div><br></div></div><div dir="ltr"><blockquote type="cite">On Jul 30, 2021, at 10:19 AM, Will Martin <willmartin2@mac.com> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">I think cringe also carries a reaction to extremely bad taste. Think the body language accompanying the use of {wejpuH}. Think of Kruge speaking of the Federation, with lots of little houses with white picket fences.<div><br>Flinch definitely has more associations with fear relating to pain or reacting to the direct experience of pain. It covers a withdrawal from a decision. “He flinched,” is a legitimate expression of “He withdrew from the conflict.” The game of chicken tests who will flinch first (or both die because nobody flinched).<br><br>And to add more confusion to the subtleties, I tend to think of “flinch” in reaction to pain, while cringe and wince tend to be more removed, either as empathy for others, like your reaction when you watch fail videos of people you know must have been seriously hurt and embarrassed, or in anticipation of predictable, but not yet experienced pain.<br><br>- charghwI’ ‘utlh</div><div>[ghaH, ghaH, -Daj]<br><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Jul 30, 2021, at 9:49 AM, SuStel <sustel@trimboli.name> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/30/2021 9:38 AM, Lieven L. Litaer
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:d48a1166-c85e-2dc0-a36d-4d57cd94777f@gmx.de">This
question is more towards the English language, so maybe the
<br>
requester of this word could explain what they were thinking.
<br>
<br>
What exactly does "Wince, Cringe, Flinch" mean? Also the added
<br>
definition on the wish list does not help me: "Reflexively recoil
or
<br>
shrink away".
<br>
<br>
Where would I use this?
</blockquote>
<p><b>Sogh qIpmeH HoD, ghopDaj pepDI' HoD, mur Sogh.<br>
</b><i>When the captain raises his hand to hit the lieutenant, the
lieutenant cringes.</i><br>
That is, the lieutenant backs off slightly and scrunches up a bit,
possibly lifting their hands a little to ward off the blow, an
instinctive reaction to an impending attack.</p>
<p>Generally, cringing is negatively associated with cowardice,
while flinching and wincing are more neutral, though they can
still be negative if you flinch or wince at the wrong thing.
Exception: you can cringe at something extremely embarrassing, and
it's not considered a negative behavior. Flinching has more to do
with instinctively trying to avoid a blow, while wincing is
usually associated with your reaction to pain, whether physical or
psychological.</p>
<p>Those are my associations with the words as a native speaker of
American English.<br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
SuStel
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://trimboli.name">http://trimboli.name</a></pre>
<span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>tlhIngan-Hol mailing list</span><br><span>tlhIngan-Hol@lists.kli.org</span><br><span>http://lists.kli.org/listinfo.cgi/tlhingan-hol-kli.org</span><br></div></blockquote></div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>tlhIngan-Hol mailing list</span><br><span>tlhIngan-Hol@lists.kli.org</span><br><span>http://lists.kli.org/listinfo.cgi/tlhingan-hol-kli.org</span><br></div></blockquote></div></body></html>