knee-jerk
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
knee + jerk, First attested 1876, derived from a figurative sense of the patellar reflex.
Adjective[edit]
knee-jerk (comparative more knee-jerk, superlative most knee-jerk)
- Unthinking, not carefully considered, (nearly) automatic, spontaneous, easily predictable.
- He gave a knee-jerk response.
- 2022 March 23, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Drains, trains and Control”, in RAIL, number 953, page 3:
- There were knee-jerk demands from trade unions for immediate withdrawal of all HSTs; these were wrong-headed.
- 2023 March 15, Michael J. de la Merced, Maureen Farrell, “Credit Suisse to Borrow Up to $54 Billion From Central Bank”, in The New York Times[1]:
- The knee-jerk reaction is further evidence of just how panicked investors are about the stability of the global financial system after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner
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Noun[edit]
knee-jerk (plural knee-jerks)
- A sudden reflexive movement of the leg below the knee, as a reaction to a tap to the tendon just below the patella (kneecap).
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
reflex extension of the lower leg due to tap below knee
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