flinchy
Quick to recoil
Flinchy describes someone who flinches easily—quick to recoil, wince, or shy away from potential pain or discomfort.
The word suggests a nervous disposition or heightened sensitivity: The horse was flinchy around loud noises.
It can imply timidity or excessive caution: Don't be so flinchy—just rip off the bandage.
Easily hurt by remarks
- touchyEasily upset or offended
- oversensitiveExcessively prone to offense
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
- vulnerableOpen to attack
fragile · defensive · prickly · raw · tender · bruised · wounded · gun-shy
Anxiously restless
- edgyTense and irritable
- tenseStrained or nervous
- anxiousTroubled by uncertainty
- uneasyTroubled, not calm
fidgety · restless · antsy · shaky · tremulous · quivering · overwrought · agitated
Lacking courage or confidence
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
- cowardlyWithout bravery or nerve
- fearfulFull of fright
- shrinkingDecreasing in dimension
cringing · cowering · recoiling · wincing · shy · meek · mousy · fainthearted
Nervously reactive to stimuli
- startledAbruptly surprised or alarmed
- twitchyNervously prone to spasms
- reactiveTending to respond
- skittishProne to nervous fright
hair-trigger · hypersensitive · overreactive · hypervigilant · guarded · wary · watchful · vigilant
thin-skinned
Easily hurt by remarks
- touchyEasily upset or offended
- oversensitiveExcessively prone to offense
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
vulnerable · fragile · defensive · prickly · raw · tender · bruised · wounded · gun-shy · once bitten
jittery
Anxiously restless
uneasy · fidgety · restless · antsy · shaky · tremulous · quivering · overwrought · agitated · unsettled
timid
Lacking courage or confidence
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
- cowardlyWithout bravery or nerve
- fearfulFull of fright
shrinking · cringing · cowering · recoiling · wincing · shy · meek · mousy · fainthearted · spineless
jumpy
Nervously reactive to stimuli
skittish · hair-trigger · hypersensitive · overreactive · hypervigilant · guarded · wary · watchful · vigilant · on alert
reluctant
Unwilling to act
wavering · indecisive · diffident · bashful · reserved · withdrawn · avoidant · evasive · cagey · noncommittal
flinchyunflinching
Refusing to show fear
stoic · steady · unblinking · impassive · unflappable
- without flinching
- two for flinchingRetaliatory strikes for startling
flinch, unflinching, flinching, flinched, flinches, unflinchingly, flincher