knee-jerk response

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• Knee jerk — The reflex tested by tapping just below the knee causing the lower leg to suddenly jerk forward. What is tapped to elicit this reaction is the patellar tendon, the tendon that runs down from the quadriceps muscle in the front of the thigh, over… …   Medical dictionary

• knee-jerk — mod. automatic; quick and without thought. □ That was only a knee jerk response. Pay no attention. □ My knee jerk response is that you should not go …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

• knee-jerk — 1. adjective Automatic, spontaneous, easily predictable He gave a knee jerk response. 2. noun A sudden reflexive movement of the leg below the knee, as a reaction to a tap to the …   Wiktionary

• knee-jerk reaction — A knee jerk reaction is an instant, instinctive response to a situation …   The small dictionary of idiomes

• knee-jerk — ☆ knee jerk [nē′jʉrk΄ ] adj. [< KNEE JERK] Informal designating, characterized by, or reacting with an automatic, predictable response …   English World dictionary

• knee-jerk — ¦ ̷ ̷ (ˌ) ̷ ̷ adjective Etymology: knee jerk, noun : readily predictable : automatic knee jerk reactions also : reacting in a readily predictable way knee jerk liberals * * * /nee jerrk / …   Useful english dictionary

• knee jerk — noun a reflex extension of the leg resulting from a sharp tap on the patellar tendon • Syn: ↑knee jerk reflex, ↑patellar reflex • Hypernyms: ↑reflex, ↑reflex response, ↑reflex action, ↑instinctive reflex, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

• knee-jerk — ADJ: ADJ n (disapproval) If you call someone s response to a question or situation a knee jerk reaction, you mean that they react in a very predictable way, without thinking. The knee jerk reaction to this is to call for proper security in all… …   English dictionary

• knee-jerk reflex — ▪ medical test also called  patellar reflex        sudden kicking movement of the lower leg in response to a sharp tap on the patellar tendon, which lies just below the kneecap. One of the several positions that a subject may take for the test is …   Universalium

• knee-jerk — adj. Knee jerk is used with these nouns: ↑decision, ↑reaction, ↑rejection, ↑response …   Collocations dictionary

• knee-jerk reaction —    A knee jerk reaction is an instant, instinctive response to a situation.   (Dorking School Dictionary) …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions