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1000+ books

recoil
in a sentence

show 187 more with this conextual meaning
  • Nelson stiffens as Pako recoils.   (source)
    recoils = draws back
  • Grandad's head recoiled as if she had struck him physically, and he stumbled out of the car.   (source)
    recoiled = moved back suddenly
  • ROS recoils, breaks for the opposite wing.   (source)
    recoils = suddenly draws back
  • Estragon recoils in horror.   (source)
    recoils = moves backward suddenly
  • She goes to her knees, but when she touches HELEN'S hand the child starts up awake, recoils, and scrambles away from her under the bed.   (source)
    recoils = draws back suddenly
  • The knife, driven by the recoil of the spring tree, had not wholly failed.   (source)
    recoil = backward jerk
  • "You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces.   (source)
    recoiling = moving backward suddenly
  • "I am frightened!" cried the child, recoiling.   (source)
    recoiling = drawing back (moving away)
  • He recoils.†   (source)
  • I'd heard other students talk about their grants, and I'd recoiled from them.†   (source)
  • Outside, the sirens howled at the houses, and the people came running, hobbling, and recoiling as they exited their homes.†   (source)
  • She pictured him puffing up the stairs, squeezing through the door, looking disapprovingly at the clutter in their house, recoiling from Poppy's sticky hands—no, it wouldn't do.†   (source)
  • I was too carried away to hold the gun the way Dad had taught me, and the recoil nearly pulled my shoulder out of its socket.†   (source)
  • Louie was recoiling when he saw an oar swing past, sending the animal backward into the ocean.†   (source)
  • He recoiled as if I had struck him.†   (source)
  • I recoil, and she continues.†   (source)
  • I was revolting, but I couldn't recoil from my self because I was stuck inside of it.†   (source)
  • The flames on the grill roared up again, and he recoiled in mock fear.†   (source)
  • He is recoiling from the sad provenance of these objects, each one attached to a momentous event in the life of its previous owner.†   (source)
  • "Leave me alone," she was stammering, recoiling from them.†   (source)
  • It means choosing to extend a hand rather than recoiling judgmentally; and following an impulse, even when, as Cassie would say, it might draw me out of my "comfort zone" and cost me something.†   (source)
  • I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice.†   (source)
  • I sympathized with him, but I recoiled from his ability to shed responsibility seamlessly and drape it at the feet of others.†   (source)
  • When it turned I reached for its hind flipper, but as soon as I touched it I recoiled in horror.†   (source)
  • Laila couldn't help wincing and recoiling.†   (source)
  • I recoiled as she leaned over the bed and retched a foul-smelling black fluid onto the floor.†   (source)
  • He turned his massive body fully toward the small woman, and he could sense her recoil as she gazed up into his red eyes.†   (source)
  • Minho actually recoiled at the harsh rebuke, but his face seemed more confused to Thomas than hurt or angry.†   (source)
  • "Sirius — it's me...it's Peter...your friend...you wouldn't —" Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.†   (source)
  • Her hands find Madame's face, and the old woman's cheek is so hot that Marie-Laure's fingers recoil as though scalded.†   (source)
  • She recoiled.†   (source)
  • I recoiled from telling him— the trust that would allow confidences had disappeared into formality.†   (source)
  • Sean recoiled against the couch cushions.†   (source)
  • It was possible that Peter's shots had sent Matt's body recoiling, but basic physics told Patrick that a shot fired from where Peter was standing would still not have landed Matt where he'd been found.†   (source)
  • The princess suddenly stared into Celaena's eyes with a ferocity that made the assassin recoil slightly.†   (source)
  • I fist my hands, recoiling slightly at the feel of his fingertips on my cheek.†   (source)
  • I tried to imagine it: curling my finger around the trigger and squeezing; the recoil and the awful report.†   (source)
  • Lannister recoiled, and Summer lunged at him from the other side.†   (source)
  • If I hadn't spent my life building up layers of defenses until I recoil at even the suggestion of marriage or a family?†   (source)
  • But at that very moment Chielo's voice rose again in her possessed chanting, and Ekwefi recoiled, because there was no humanity there.†   (source)
  • They had to fight the urge to recoil.†   (source)
  • I recoiled, scrambling into a sitting position.†   (source)
  • Even though he thought she was recoiling from him, he took another couple of steps in her direction.†   (source)
  • Kit recoiled, as much from his angry tone as from the repulsive words.†   (source)
  • I recoiled and she watched me.†   (source)
  • Cinder squeezed her fists together, nerves twisting in the base of her stomach, as Kai recoiled from the image.†   (source)
  • She recoiled from its slippery hardness.†   (source)
  • They recoiled at my words, and the tremors running down Lucy's little body almost made me regret saying them.†   (source)
  • I can open you an account in Switzerland for the rest of it and give you a bank book and that way — what?" he said, recoiling almost, when I put the stack of bills in the bag, snapped it shut, and shoved it back at him.†   (source)
  • And the Beatles didn't recoil in horror when they were told they had to play eight hours a night, seven days a week.†   (source)
  • Instantly, he recoils.†   (source)
  • She recoils slightly, just a fraction of an inch.†   (source)
  • They recoiled from that.†   (source)
  • Eragon recoiled in shock.†   (source)
  • Adam recoiled from the possibilities.†   (source)
  • Silvertongue recoiled when he touched the skeleton in the darkness.†   (source)
  • Mack recoiled at the thought of his children being watched; being targets.†   (source)
  • He thought briefly that such an anticlimax would be the universe's fitting verdict on his martial pretensions: the brave warrior floating off into near-planet orbit, no maneuvering systems, no propellant, no reaction mass of any sort-even the pistol was non-recoil.†   (source)
  • We could tell from the wide berth strangers gave him and the way they recoiled when he bounded their way that they no longer viewed him as a harmless puppy.†   (source)
  • His words hinted at an end, and I recoiled from the idea.†   (source)
  • I do know from his sister Jennifer that medication is a sore subject, not just because he insists he doesn't need it, but because he recoils at the mere suggestion of something or someone controlling him.†   (source)
  • The captain Anaander Mianaai had been speaking to recoiled, visibly startled by the sudden appearance of my armor.†   (source)
  • He recoiled as a bright blue snake as thick as his wrist appeared out of the canopy of leaves and flickered a tongue that was easily six inches long in his direction.†   (source)
  • Amma recoiled and pointed a bony finger in his direction.†   (source)
  • The lake itself heaves and surges; waves are pulled in against the shore, recoil, are pulled in again; and the willow trees below him toss themselves like heads of long green hair, and bend and thrash.†   (source)
  • I felt the gratifying recoil of my rifle.†   (source)
  • He delicately touched my forehead and recoiled, as if my skin might burn him.†   (source)
  • She saw what it really was and recoiled instinctively.†   (source)
  • But then around her she saw all these people of all these different colors in all these different attires and she was relieved, better here than there she thought, and it occurred to her that she had been stifled in the place of her birth for virtually her entire life, that its time for her had passed, and a new time was here, and, fraught or not, she relished this like the wind in her face on a hot day when she rode her motorcycle and lifted the visor of her helmet and embraced the dust and the pollution and the little bugs that sometimes went into your mouth and made you recoil and even spit, but after spitting grin, and grin with a wildness.†   (source)
  • Jocelyn recoiled.†   (source)
  • I can hardly bear to look at him, but when I do, he doesn't recoil from me.†   (source)
  • The recoil was immense, as though the weapon had blown up in his hand.†   (source)
  • I recoiled, not sure what would happen next.†   (source)
  • He accompanied his uncle to his country retreat in one of the city's first automobiles, whose crank handle had such a powerful recoil that it had dislocated the shoulder of the first driver.†   (source)
  • I looked into her brown eyes and I recoiled.†   (source)
  • Her body looked fragile and her face was swollen from crying, and he almost recoiled when he met her eyes.†   (source)
  • Miss Milhouse recoiled.†   (source)
  • All three visitors recoiled.†   (source)
  • She recoiled from his bitterness.†   (source)
  • It's not a happy story, and Molly has learned through experience that people either recoil or don't believe her or, worse, pity her.†   (source)
  • He noticed the dark stairwell and recoiled.†   (source)
  • in his direction, I reflexively recoiled when I saw the appalling condition of his face.†   (source)
  • Don't do it, Norah thought; David couldn't seem to see how much Paul recoiled at David's suggestions for his future.†   (source)
  • I recoiled almost instantly at her tone more than her words.†   (source)
  • The Witch exploded a sneeze, recoiled, staggered away.†   (source)
  • He recoiled in mock horror.†   (source)
  • Kristina recoiled.†   (source)
  • Every movement that seemed to bring her closer to him, to bring them closer together, had its violent recoil, driving them farther apart.†   (source)
  • Its flight is so sudden I recoil, jerking my arm up, sending the beam of light over the ceiling and a whole cloudy scene of carnage.†   (source)
  • Edna initially recoiled when she visited it but also saw an advantage: It was in the poor part of town, near the people who needed her most.†   (source)
  • He was surprised to find Hema still standing behind him, and again the sight of the bundles she carried made him recoil.†   (source)
  • Wow,' he said, recoiling slightly.†   (source)
  • An outstretched leg withdrew along the floor like a serpent recoiling underfoot.†   (source)
  • The recoil had knocked him off the wagon, but even so it had been hard to get free of the dream.†   (source)
  • She pulls me toward her as I recoil.†   (source)
  • All the scenes she recoiled from when she watched T^ the narrative of local crime, we see the body in the street, the lament of the relatives, the suspect doubled over to conceal himself— MANX MARTIN The super comes gimping toward him.†   (source)
  • Clevinger recoiled from their hatred as though from a blinding light.†   (source)
  • The veins in his neck popped out as he recoiled backwards.†   (source)
  • She cursed and recoiled, losing her grip on him.†   (source)
  • When I opened the door, both Mahtob and I recoiled at the sight of the largest cockroaches we had ever seen, scurrying about the damp marble floor.†   (source)
  • It was not intended to be a hand cannon, and if he had fired the thing, the recoil would probably have thrown him into the air, but everyone in front of it would have died of terminal perforations.†   (source)
  • Felicity slithers off the rock and drags herself along the ground with her hands, leaning close to Ann, who recoils, her back against the cave wall.†   (source)
  • It wasn't so much the idea of them seeing my body, although the thought made me recoil.†   (source)
  • The rifle's recoil knocked him flat and opened a cut above one eye.†   (source)
  • The dog, coming suddenly upon him face to face among the rough tussocks, recoiled a moment, startled and confused.†   (source)
  • I recoiled, but he said, "Look-I have an expiration date.†   (source)
  • The idea had been in the back of her mind for a long time, but she recoiled from it instinctively: the suggestion of a final separation was unbearable to her, but she knew that a day would come when there would be no putting off, no concealment.†   (source)
  • Her system no longer recoiled at the insult the bullet caused in flesh.†   (source)
  • Tom recoiled to a crouch and instinctively spread his arms.†   (source)
  • His comrades-in-arms seemed to recoil from the slight, callow nineteen-year-old almost by reflex.†   (source)
  • Ignatius stumbled back for a moment, recoiling from the shock of pain.†   (source)
  • I wince and recoil—my lashes are still painful.†   (source)
  • He reached out to place his hand on her arm, and she recoiled from his touch.†   (source)
  • Attolia recoiled.†   (source)
  • But when he was a student of philosophy Phaedrus had recoiled violently from this entire branch of knowledge.†   (source)
  • He had no right to talk to a white man as he had, not with me to take the punishment ....Someone shook me and I recoiled, my legs moist and trembling.†   (source)
  • The netman recoiled, then lunged toward him in pain and fury, his hands outstretched like claws.†   (source)
  • The aroma of salt and spice filled his nostrils, causing his harnd to recoil sharply.†   (source)
  • When a television crew thrust a long, dark, furry object at me, I recoiled slightly, wondering if it were some newfangled weapon developed while I was in prison.†   (source)
  • The Sicilian smelled the flowers in his hand, and recoiled.†   (source)
  • She shook her head in an involuntary recoil of horror.†   (source)
  • One of the ogres managed to lock its huge hand onto the dwarf's face, but Bruenor promptly bit it, and the monster recoiled.†   (source)
  • At once I heard her snap, "Center-line tube ....fire!" and there were two recoil bumps as Jelly and his acting platoon sergeant unloaded — and immediately: "Port and starboard tubes — automatic fire!" and the rest of us started to unload.†   (source)
  • She would employ the classic push-pull to control recoil when she fired.†   (source)
  • We know he encouraged Chindit to fart whenever possible in her vicinity and by raising his eyebrows would surreptitiously make us feel it was she who made us recoil to the other end of the room.†   (source)
  • Zooey said, quite sharply, recoiling.†   (source)
  • Following the laws of physics, it then recoiled and bounced off.†   (source)
  • My hands recoiled from the coldness of serpent flesh, my nails clawed at my palms, the leaves I had parted moved back to cover it.†   (source)
  • Instantly, the young Jordanian recoiled in fear of the dreaded Mukhabarat man seated calmly on the opposite side of the table.†   (source)
  • Some of the other White men on the hill also tried to help, but they must have seen something like what Miller saw, and they recoiled as if they had been burned.†   (source)
  • The recoil of the discharge had thrown the shotgun off the books.†   (source)
  • Before his upraised hand the foul Messenger recoiled, and Gandalf coming seized and took from him the tokens: coat, cloak, and sword.†   (source)
  • I set it on the deck and thought about it as I unfastened and recoiled the line.†   (source)
  • It all may not have been much—measured against his nauseous mouthings which would have caused the most hidebound Virginia reactionary to recoil—but it was something.†   (source)
  • If he consciously tried to think back to the murder of the guard, his mind would shy away stubbornly, like a horse avoiding a bridge; nevertheless, the memory repeatedly came back, around unsuspected corners, and though his thought recoiled the way you would draw back your hand from a snake you'd mistaken for a vine, he could not escape reliving that moment—the dead guard's hand reaching out to him—over and over.†   (source)
  • ALAN [recoiling.†   (source)
  • She'd recoiled at the thought of living in Equatorial Africa or a delta village in India, and pestered him to set up practice in New York or Los Angeles, where the big money was.†   (source)
  • For the second time that morning, Clytie recoiled, and as she did so, the other recoiled in the same way.†   (source)
  • Reich radiated a burst of savage compulsion that made the peeper recoil.†   (source)
  • Then she saw him make a sudden movement, and recoiled, terrified; she thought he was going to attack her.†   (source)
  • The blood of his body recoiled before it.   (source)
    recoiled = suddenly moved backward (away from it)
  • As she continued reading, she suddenly gasped and recoiled.†   (source)
  • As he did, the three recoiled and shrieked, opening their maws like hungry snakes.†   (source)
  • There was such a Mrs. Weasley-ish glare on her face that Harry was surprised Fred didn't recoil.†   (source)
  • Neville gave a howl of pain and recoiled, clutching his mouth and nose.†   (source)
  • Morton recoiled, and Miss Desjardin jumped as if struck from behind.†   (source)
  • When he offered the bag to his wife, she recoiled as though it held a venomous snake.†   (source)
  • One put his mouth to the spring and recoiled.†   (source)
  • Harry felt Ron recoil slightly next to him — Ron hated spiders.†   (source)
  • His tail whipped back and forth as he recoiled from the judgment in my words.†   (source)
  • Langdon leaned down to listen for breath but immediately recoiled.†   (source)
  • The recoil pushes Hiro back against the rusted hull of the oil tanker.†   (source)
  • Lena recoiled, but Emily wasn't that easily deterred.†   (source)
  • Again she recoiled, turning away from him.†   (source)
  • She recoiled at the harsh edge in his voice.†   (source)
  • I felt the elastic recoil again as my shield fought to protect me.†   (source)
  • He freezes at my touch, but doesn't recoil.†   (source)
  • The docent recoiled, a look of bewilderment in his olive-green eyes.†   (source)
  • The old goblin seemed to recoil a little.†   (source)
  • Paul laughed, watching me recoil from the human excrement thrown from above.†   (source)
  • Jacob recoiled from his hand automatically, and then steadied himself.†   (source)
  • The sound hurts my ears and the recoil sends my hands back, toward my nose.†   (source)
  • When he mentioned the strangers, Saphira recoiled.†   (source)
  • Marley recoiled and lunged again, this time bringing his mouth within inches of our newborn's toes.†   (source)
  • He saw the small recoil on her face and understood.†   (source)
  • His father kissed him good night, and Adel's instinct was to recoil.†   (source)
  • As he recoiled, the Quack saw him, pounded over, and punched him a dozen times.†   (source)
  • Even in the darkness Vittoria sensed them recoil.†   (source)
  • Langdon also recoiled, as did Sato, who looked startled for the first time all night.†   (source)
  • The recoil as One Var shot Lieutenant Awn.†   (source)
  • Nasuada recoiled without thinking, clutching at the dagger she kept strapped to her left forearm.†   (source)
  • Chris recoiled so suddenly that her head struck the lockers behind her.†   (source)
  • He stuck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled.†   (source)
  • The boy recoiled, sweat running down the sides of his face.†   (source)
  • He recoiled from the attack but found himself held in an iron grip, unable to retreat.†   (source)
  • The entire assembly seemed to recoil in unison.†   (source)
  • The monk recoiled, struggling against his bonds.†   (source)
  • Katherine recoiled as she flashed on the image of him standing in her family home ten years earlier.†   (source)
  • Acting on instinct, Roran recoiled, crouching, twisting, and covering his head with his shield.†   (source)
  • My instincts recoiled against seeing an immortal incapacitated that way; it was profoundly wrong.†   (source)
  • He was the only person there, except for — He recoiled.†   (source)
  • A gust of fetid odor rose from the body, and all three men recoiled.†   (source)
  • Jack's mouth dropped open, and Wendy recoiled as if slapped.†   (source)
  • Jessica recoiled, fearing she would become lost in an ocean of oneness.†   (source)
  • When I see what's inside, I recoil immediately, my shoulders hitting his chest.†   (source)
  • I felt an involuntary urge to recoil, the way you would at a sudden loud noise.†   (source)
  • Louie recoiled, pulling his legs toward his body.†   (source)
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