knee-jerk en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
From knee + jerk, First attested c. 1876, and derived from a figurative sense of the patellar reflex.
Meanings
-
Unthinking, not carefully considered, (nearly) automatic, spontaneous, easily predictable.
There were knee-jerk demands from trade unions for immediate withdrawal of all HSTs; these were wrong-headed.
2022 March 23, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Drains, trains and Control”, in RAIL, number 953, page 3: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.
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:He gave a knee-jerk response.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most knee-jerk | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more knee-jerk | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| knee jerk | alternative | lexicographic | |
| kneejerk | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
knee-jerkish · knee-jerkism · knee-jerkishly · knee-jerk reaction · knee-jerky
Translations (10)
fr prévisible (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner) · es impulsivo (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner) · is ósjálfráður (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner) · fi selkäydin- (such as selkäydinreaktio) (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner) · de vorhersehbar (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner) · fi refleksinomainen vastaus (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner) · es visceral (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner) · de automatisch (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner) · de reflexartig (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner) · nl voorspelbaar (reacting unthinkingly or spontaneously in an expected manner)