All 3 Uses of
recoil
in
A Tale of Two Cities
- He recoiled, but she laid her hand upon his arm.†
Chpt 1.6 *recoiled = moved back suddenly
- In the instinctive association of prisoners with shameful crime and disgrace, the new-comer recoiled from this company.†
Chpt 3.1
- In one of those pauses she recoiled and cried out, for she saw a figure standing in the room.†
Chpt 3.14
Definition:
to move backward suddenly (sometimes figuratively)
especially:
- the backward jerk of a gun or cannon when it is fired
- when a person flinches (suddenly draws back) from someone or something, as with fear, disgust, or pain
- when a person is emotionally repulsed, as by disgust
- when something intended to go in one direction figuratively falls back in the opposite direction; for example, a story told to hurt someone that comes back to hurt the teller