blench
To shrink; start back; give way; flinch; turn aside or fly offTo shrink; start back; give way; flinch; turn aside or fly off.
Meaning
7 senses(intransitive)To shrink; start back; give way; flinch; turn aside or fly off.
(intransitive)To quail.
(transitive)To deceive; cheat.
(transitive)To draw back from; shrink; avoid; elude; deny, as from fear.
(transitive)To hinder; obstruct; disconcert; foil.
(intransitive)To fly off; to turn aside.
turn pale, as if in fear
(obsolete)To blanch.
Origin
From Middle English blench (noun) and blenchen (verb), from Old English blenċan (“to deceiFrom Middle English blench (noun) and blenchen (verb), from Old English blenċan (“to deceive, cheat”), from Proto-West Germanic *blankijan, from Proto-Germanic *blankijaną (“to deceive”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ-. Cognate with Icelandic blekkja (“to deceive, cheat, impose upon”).
Variant of blanch, from Middle English blanchen, blaunchen, from Old French blanchir (“to whiten, bleach”), from blanc (“white”), of Germanic origin; compare Middle English blenchen (“to turn pale", also "to flinch; deceive”), from Old English blenċan. More at blank.
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Forms
blenches, blenching, blenched, blenchedSynonyms
2 synonymsWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle