quailed

verb

past tense of quail
1
as in flinched
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust we quailed when the waiter unexpectedly presented us with a hindquarter of frog's legs

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cringed
to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission brave resisters who did not quail before the tyrant's iron hand

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for quailed
  1. flinched
  2. cringed
  3. recoiled
  4. winced
Verb
  • Then the pianist flinched and the leader sprinted off the stage.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The teen in the green sweatshirt, Williams, momentarily flinched from the gunshot.
    — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of flinched
Verb
  • When the outfits hit social media Sunday morning, many Titans fans cringed.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Mingione cringed when asked if any of his players had gotten hurt by a hit by pitch.
    — Mitch Light, New York Times, 22 May 2026
Definition of cringed
Verb
  • The upper atmosphere recoiled so violently that radio communications were disrupted.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Even a few Republican loyalists have recoiled at the extravagant pageantry, seemingly designed to flatter Xi and awe a domestic audience, although the absence of TV cameras at the Rose Garden ceremony undermined that low-ambition objective.
    — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of recoiled
Verb
  • Back on the broadcast, Nantz immediately winced and grabbed his hand.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • My husband walked into the room and winced as one of the women changed into a perfect re-creation of an American Girl–doll outfit (very theater kid, not his thing).
    — Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of winced
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Quailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quailed. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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