recoil

At the same time, photon recoil continues to propel it forward, creating a steering system that works somewhat like the directional control used in larger vehicles.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

He smiled after I busted him for looking, which made me recoil in horror and quickly dart over to hide in the pet food aisle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Howitzers are put together from metal subsystems, such as the barrel, the breech mechanism the shell is loaded into and hydraulics that reduce recoil when artillery fires.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Many judges recoil from that conclusion, and the constitutional inquiry becomes personal.

From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2026

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.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

Half a century later, Jiang is still the reason the Communist Party recoils at any hint of a leader’s spouse wielding power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

At the end of “The Return,” when Fiennes stands entrail-smeared before his beloved Penelope, she recoils from the horror of the battlefield brought right into their home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

He practices a politics of inspiration, and the Surge recoils at politicians who try to inspire us.

From Slate ● Apr. 5, 2025

As someone who recoils at the mere thought of candied peel or maraschino cherries, I too have reflexively avoided fruitcake for most of my life.

From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2023

Brother Khoi recoils, vowing to never eat anything with wings.

From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai

The first night when I went to give the 4 year old a good night hug and kiss, she recoiled and said I was “furry.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Walking into his kitchen, Tim Yoder recoiled at a message on his refrigerator door: “Shop Samsung water filters.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

By that point, Layan had forgotten her completely, Omama says, and recoiled when they met.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2025

He recoiled from me, and I couldn’t blame him; he had no idea where he was or who I was.

From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025

He recoiled from her, from the look of her.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

Economic uncertainty has tempered demand among even the wealthiest clients who had lifted sales for years, while aspirational shoppers are recoiling from persistent price increases.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

De Guzman, who also curated an art show called “Roots of Cool” about trees, noted that Los Angeles seems to actually shrink during the hotter months, as if recoiling from the sun.

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2025

“Swim in it? Me?” said retiree Patrice Desrousses, 64, recoiling ever so slightly as he paused in his promenade beside the storied waterway.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2024

So rather than staying in the cycle of having a knee-jerk negative reaction each time I scrolled past a new lurid selfie and then feeling guilty for recoiling, I unfollowed her.

From Salon ● May 7, 2024

Rose hissed like a recoiling snake, her hand reaching to cover RiRi’s eyes in anticipation of Miig dancing an electric jig, sizzling like a piece of frying meat.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline