English

Verb

shrink away ‎(third-person singular simple present shrinks away, present participle shrinking away, simple past shrank away or shrunk away, past participle shrunk away or shrunken away)

1. to draw back in fear, cringe, back down
   • 1912, Stratemeyer Syndicate, Baseball Joe on the School Nine Chapter 1

     But Tommy was bashful, and the attention he had thus drawn upon himself made him blush. He was a timid lad and he shrank away now, evidently fearing Shell.