recoil
v.to move back suddenly because you are scared, shocked, or hurt. You might also do this if you see something very gross or unpleasant.
v.to spring back or flinch involuntarily in fear, horror, or disgust. Also describes the sudden backward movement of a firearm upon discharge.
“She felt herself recoil when she saw the spider.”
“Most people recoil at the sight of the bloody injury, but the experienced nurse remained perfectly calm.”
“The public began to recoil from the candidate's increasingly aggressive rhetoric, leading to a sharp decline in his polling numbers just weeks before the general election.”
The verb is intransitive and often takes the preposition 'from' or 'at'.
“He twice kicked the creature’s face, causing it to “rear, flinch and immediately recoil” as well as prompting it to try to flee.”
From Old French reculer. Further from Latin re- + cūlus.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.