WikiWord

knee-jerk

From WikiWord

English

Etymology

No etymology has been added yet.

Pronunciation

No pronunciation has been added yet.

Noun

knee-jerk noun

  1. A sudden reflexive movement of the leg below the knee, as a reaction to a tap to the tendon just below the patella (kneecap).

Verb

No verb senses have been added yet.

Adjective

knee-jerk adjective

  1. Unthinking, not carefully considered, (nearly) automatic, spontaneous, easily predictable“He gave a knee-jerk response.”

Word map

kneejerk ref…patellar ref…impulsiveoverhastyrashhurriedhastyprecipitatedprecipitateprecipitousknee-jerk

Related terms

Synonyms

Usage & collocations

No usage or collocation data has been added yet.

Community definitions

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Usage in the wild

Real example sentences for knee-jerk appear here as readers add them.

References