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)
To draw back in fear; cringe, back down, shy away.
A drink a day keeps the shrink away. Edward Abbey
It may often be noticed, the less virtuous people are, the more they shrink away from the slightest whiff of the odour of un-sanctity. The good are ever the most charitable, the pure are the most brave. Dinah Craik
Why do otherwise sane, competent, strong men, men who can wrestle bears or raid corporations, shrink away in horror at the thought of washing a dish or changing a diaper? Frank Pittman
I have a Christian worldview and so it shapes the way that I view issues. I don't apologize for that, and I don't think people of faith ought to shrink away from being in the public arena. John Thune
It used to be that whenever I introduced myself to people and told them I was a psychologist, they would shrink away from me. Because, quite rightly, the impression the American public has of psychologists is, 'You want to know what's wrong with me.' Martin Seligman