knee-jerk reaction
(redirected from a knee-jerk reaction)knee-jerk reaction
Any spontaneous, reflexive, and unthinking reaction or response. I know my knee-jerk reaction to the film's ending was mostly negative, but over time I've come to appreciate its subtlety and poignancy. Unsurprisingly, there has been a knee-jerk reaction from many parents to have the book banned from schools.
See also: reaction
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
knee-jerk reaction
Fig. an automatic or reflex reaction; an immediate reaction made without examining causes or facts. With one of his typical knee-jerk reactions, he said no immediately, citing some moral argument that no one understood.
See also: reaction
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.