The act of flinching or recoiling; or an adjective describing something that causes hesitation or discomfort.
Present participle of 'blench' formed with the '-ing' suffix, creating a gerund or continuous action.
There's something poignant about 'blenching'—it's not just a single flinch but an ongoing pattern of avoiding, capturing the sense of habitual avoidance better than its modern equivalent.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.