Enter a clue or pattern or both:

The Clue

Starts back, as in fear (7 letter answer)

The Answer

RECOILS

Tags


Notes

The answer RECOILS is rarely seen, appearing only about once every 2400 puzzles.

Related Clues

Shrinks
Draws back
Jumps back
Shows alarm
Suddenly shrinks

Definition

RECOIL as a noun:

1. (recoil, kick) = the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired
2. (recoil, repercussion, rebound, backlash) = a movement back from an impact

RECOIL as a verb:

1. (flinch, squinch, funk, cringe, shrink, wince, recoil, quail) = draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf"
2. (backfire, backlash, recoil) = come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; "Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble"
3. (bounce, resile, take a hop, spring, bound, rebound, recoil, reverberate, ricochet) = spring back; spring away from an impact; "The rubber ball bounced"; "These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide"
4. (kick back, recoil, kick) = spring back, as from a forceful thrust; "The gun kicked back into my shoulder"