- 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
Viewers raved over Beharie's work in "White Noise," which is certainly excellent, especially in the scene where she simply recoils, wordless, as she takes in the vile digs anonymous commenters get in at her expense.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2023
You see Oppenheimer recoil, even if what he recoils from is left pointedly out of frame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2023
According to conventional nuclear physics, this was extraordinary, even bizarre: nuclei of different weights would be expected to emit disintegration products of widely variable energies, with the heavy elements producing the more energetic recoils.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
