knee-jerk

Meaning

Adj

Unthinking, not carefully considered, (nearly) automatic, spontaneous, easily predictable.

Noun

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

knee jerk

knee-jerk reflex

patellar reflex

Translations

automatisch

prévisible

voorspelbaar

automático

visceral

reflejo rotular

reflejo rotuliano

Etymology

From knee + jerk, First attested c. 1876, and derived from a figurative sense of the patellar reflex.