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knee-jerk

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

knee-jerk • n. a sudden involuntary reflex kick caused by a blow on the tendon just below the knee. • adj. (of a response) automatic and unthinking: a knee-jerk reaction. ∎  (of a person) responding in this way: knee-jerk radicals.

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Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

knee-jerk reflex
Book article from: A Dictionary of Biology knee-jerk reflex See stretch reflex . Read more
patellar reflex
Book article from: A Dictionary of Nursing patellar reflex ( knee jerk ) n. reflex contraction of the quadriceps (thigh) muscle, so that the leg kicks, elicited in a patient sitting with one leg crossed... Read more
KJ
Book article from: The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations KJ airline flight code for British medeterranean Airways Med. knee jerk • Knight of St Joachim • British vehicle registration for Maidstone Read more
reflex action
Book article from: World Encyclopedia reflex action Rapid involuntary response to a particular stimulus – for example, the ‘knee-jerk’ reflex that occurs when the bent knee is tapped. It is controlled by the nervous system. Read more
stretch reflex
Book article from: A Dictionary of Biology stretch reflex ( myotatic reflex ) The reflex initiated when a muscle is stretched; an example is the knee-jerk reflex . Stretching of a muscle causes impulses to be generated in the muscle spindles . These impulses are transmitted by sensory... Read more

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