blench

¹ American  

[blench] / blɛntʃ /

verb (used without object)

1. to shrink; flinch; quail.

   an unsteady eye that blenched under another's gaze.

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blench ² American  

[blench] / blɛntʃ /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become pale or white; blanch.

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blench ¹ British  

/ blɛntʃ /

verb

1. (intr) to shy away, as in fear; quail

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blench ² British  

/ blɛntʃ /

verb

1. to make or become pale or white

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Other Word Forms

• blencher noun
• blenchingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of blench¹

before 1000; Middle English blenchen, Old English blencan; cognate with Old Norse blekkja, Middle High German blenken

Origin of blench²

First recorded in 1805–15; variant of blanch ¹

Example Sentences

And for those who blench and tremble at the thought of audience participation, take a breath.

From New York Times • Aug. 30, 2022

Some might blench at being told how complex systems “evolve in both deterministic and stochastic ways”; might ‘predictable and random’ have sufficed?

From Nature • Jun. 11, 2019

While I understand that having three separate “crap drawers” in different rooms may not be bringing me joy, I blench at the idea of neat boxes and bare shelves.

From The Guardian • Jan. 12, 2019

I’ll observe his looks, I’ll tent him to the quick, if a’do blench I know my course.

From Slate • Sep. 17, 2014

Still she did not blench: maiden of the Rohirrim, child of kings, slender but as a steel-blade, fair yet terrible.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien