recoil (n.)

  1. the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired

    [ Syn: kick ]

  2. a movement back from an impact

    [ Syn: repercussion , rebound , backlash ]

    recoil (v.)

  1. draw back, as with fear or pain; she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf

    [ Syn: flinch , squinch , funk , cringe , shrink , wince , quail ]

  2. come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble

    [ Syn: backfire , backlash ]

  3. spring back; spring away from an impact; The rubber ball bounced; These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide

    [ Syn: bounce , resile , take a hop , spring , bound , rebound , reverberate , ricochet ]

  4. spring back, as from a forceful thrust; The gun kicked back into my shoulder

    [ Syn: kick back , kick ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.