knee jerk
3
4.3
- noun
- /ni dʒɜrk/
:
reflejo patelar
- The police officer's knee jerk response to the loud noise was to draw his weapon.
- knee jerk reaction
Examples
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His first knee-jerk reaction was to make a polite excuse and get the hell out of there.
Fiction book (2001) -
When someone gets dealt what looks like a devastating hand, our knee-jerk reaction is to send healing energy.
Blog text (28) -
People need to resist the knee-jerk reaction to what Daniels said.
Blog text (28) -
-Sorry, knee jerk.
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There are no simple answers here, and my concern is that in a knee-jerk response to suddenly make things available, no one will think to put in place the social and technical infrastructure that we need to support positive engagement and to protect active researchers, both professional and amateur, from time-wasters.
Blog text (28) -
In this condition, when we feel weak, it's almost a knee-jerk reaction to fight, to lash out, to argue, accuse, bully, complain, and blame.
Blog text (28) -
Institutional funds that have taken a considered decision to allocate to funds of hedge funds are unlikely to sell out in a knee-jerk reaction, although there may be some reallocation of strategies and products.
Blog text (28) -
I don't believe this is a knee-jerk racist act as much as it is borne out of frustration with the size and overreach of the Federal Government.
Blog text (28) -
Either way, I highly recommend that you read the Cleveland Frowns' post because it is devoid of the knee-jerk p.c. sentiment so many people accuse the anti-Wahoo camp of harboring.
Blog text (28) -
When the doctor tapped my knee, I felt a sudden knee jerk that made my leg kick out automatically.
Synonyms
1
3.9
A sudden automatic kick of the lower leg when the tendon below the kneecap is tapped
1
6.0
A quick kick of the lower leg after a tap below the kneecap
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an involuntary reflex in which the lower leg suddenly kicks out' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'knee' (the joint) with 'jerk' (a sudden sharp movement); a learner who knows both words can infer a sudden movement associated with the knee. This physical-event compound is a straightforward compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner familiar with the constituents would readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
The term knee jerk comes from a simple medical test: when a doctor taps just below the knee, the lower leg suddenly jerks out. Because this happens without thinking, the phrase now means 'an automatic reaction'.