- present tense form of recoil (3rd person singular).
recoils
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Having fashioned a creature from dead body parts, the scientist recoils from the result, which appears to him to be a monster of “unparalleled barbarity,” and abandons his construction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
He practices a politics of inspiration, and the Surge recoils at politicians who try to inspire us.
From Slate ● Apr. 5, 2025
Although Watkins has been the center of attention since middle school, when Gottlieb started hearing whispers of an eighth-grade phenom on the recruiting circuit, Watkins recoils when asked about her success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2023
Historically, when the connection between power and principles is stretched so thin as to be no longer plausible, the public recoils.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2023
In the newsreel the destroyer’s guns fire without sound and, half a world away, amid the elegance of an old- fashioned cinema, Tessie Zizmo feels the recoils.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
