Definition of "shrink from" []

• Avoid (one's assigned duties) (verb)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "“I never shrink from my duty,” admitted Mrs. Wallingford."
• "To shrink from contacts with this Legation and others, notably the British would now involve a virtually impossible psychic revulsion."
• "The three-term governor drew an enthusiastic response during a speech Saturday to the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans when he challenged GOP candidates not to shrink from social issues, such as opposition to abortion."