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fight-or-flight

noun

  1. (modifier) involving or relating to an involuntary response to stress in which the hormone adrenaline is secreted into the blood in readiness for physical action, such as fighting or running away

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Why do we have to just trigger fight-or-flight in people as a communal experience? Why can’t we just trigger joy and connection?”

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“The medical effects of this are so profound and people don’t understand it, but it triggers a fight-or-flight response that triggers all kinds of stress hormones,” said Nalini Lasiewicz, who runs a nonprofit called Pickleball Noise Relief that has helped conduct studies on the harmful effects the sounds of pickleball can have on nearby residents.

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It turns the human brain into a reptilian one and activates the sympathetic nervous system, putting us into fight-or-flight mode — the same one we can get stuck in when we’re chronically lonely.

Read more on Salon

This is part of the body's fight-or-flight response that has evolved to help us react quickly to the sounds like a predator crashing through the bushes.

Read more on BBC

"One common response to fear is fight-or-flight. When it comes to policy, the flight response is often to hide and do nothing, which fits comfortably with the conservative bent toward not changing social policy."

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