Physiology. noting or pertaining to an involuntary response to a stimulus, the nerve impulse from a receptor being transmitted inward to a nerve center that in turn transmits it outward to an effector.
occurring in reaction; responsive.
cast back; reflected, as light, color, etc.
bent or turned back.
designating a radio apparatus in which the same circuit or part performs two functions.
noun
Physiology.
Also called reflex act.movement caused by a reflex response.
Also called reflex action.the entire physiological process activating such movement.
any automatic, unthinking, often habitual behavior or response.
the reflection or image of an object, as exhibited by a mirror or the like.
a reproduction, as if in a mirror.
a copy; adaptation.
reflected light, color, etc.
Historical Linguistics. an element in a language, as a sound, that has developed from a corresponding element in an earlier form of the language: The (ō) in “stone” is a reflex of Old English ā.
a reflex radio receiver.
a reflex camera.
verb (used with object)
to subject to a reflex process.
to bend, turn, or fold back.
to arrange in a reflex system.
Origin of reflex
1500–10; < Latinreflexus bent back, past participle of reflectere to reflect
Related formsre·flex·ly, adverbre·flex·ness, nounmul·ti·re·flex, nounsem·i·re·flex, noun
c.1500, "reflection of light," from verb reflex meaning "refract, deflect" (late 14c.), from Late Latin reflexus "a bending back," noun use of past participle of reflectere (see reflection). Meaning "involuntary nerve stimulation" first recorded 1877, from reflex action (1833).
An action or movement not controlled by conscious thought. A reflex may be anything from a hiccup to the involuntary response of a body part, such as the action that occurs in the knee-jerk reflex.
