of or relating to a knee-jerk.
Informal. reacting according to a certain habitual manner; unthinking.
a knee-jerk liberal.
First recorded in 1875–80
First recorded in 1895–1900
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The knee jerk is likely disappointment, given the lack of acceleration in both billed business and revenue growth,” Foran said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Investors do not want to see this and the negative knee jerk reaction is being seen,” Ives said of Alphabet stock’s drop.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
"Everyone recognizes there is a growing antibiotic resistance crisis, and the knee jerk reaction is to develop new antibiotics," You added.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 22, 2024
“A sensible conversation is needed when balancing community safety with personal liberty. This is not a time for knee jerk responses,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2023
The Diagnosis is made at first by the fatigue, peculiar pains, loss of the knee jerk, the peculiar pupil and history of syphilis.
From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Ritter, Thomas Jefferson
Oddly enough, “The Drama” was already resisting knee-jerk reactions before it was even properly released.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026
Any sign that the war could continue has sparked a knee-jerk rise in yields, especially for shorter-term Treasurys that are particularly sensitive to shifts in the near-term outlook for interest rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
But Boivin argues the market’s knee-jerk reaction misses nuances within the broader AI theme.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
“The knee-jerk reaction to the better jobs report was initial strength, then weakness,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at the Carson Group.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 11, 2026
They didn’t just have a knee-jerk reaction to immediately respond to the text.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
