To recoil is to pull back or to pull away in horror or surprise. When you recoil at the sight of a scary movie, you are reacting in a very negative way.
The woman recoiled at the sight of the monster.
The soldier recoiled at the sound of the gunshot.
noun
a movement back from an impact
Synonyms:
verb
spring back; spring away from an impact
Synonyms:
verb
spring back, as from a forceful thrust
Synonyms:
verb
draw back, as with fear or pain
Synonyms:
verb
come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect
Synonyms:
noun
the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired
Synonyms:
1
Farmers recoil at cull chaos.
2
The basic principle of the pistol is recoil operation.
3
By the recoil, the rocket accelerates in the opposite direction to the steam.
4
I recoil from the dead hand of the state.
5
If the kinetic energy is the same, then the recoil has to be the same.
6
Ruth recoils, and Smailey and Fred watch, emotionless.
7
Either the kinetic energy is less, or the recoil is the same.
8
Even in the lighter rifles the recoil is very tolerable.
9
This minimizes the yaw movement caused by the recoil of the gun.
10
Why do we recoil at unpleasant sounds