v. 1 jerk or jump or spring back, start, flinch, wince, shrink, blench, balk or baulk, shy (away) (from) He recoiled when confronted with the evidence of the gruesome experiments with live animals 2 rebound, bounce back, resile, kick back When fired, the gun recoiled, bruising his shoulder
n. 3 kick, rebound, repercussion, backlash He was unprepared for the violent recoil of the old gun