knee jerk

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.

"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

But a former cabinet minister - strongly opposed to withdrawal - described the idea as "knee jerk nonsense".

From BBC • Aug. 8, 2023

"We didn't want a knee jerk sell-off of all the Russian metal," said an executive at one of the banks storing gold for ETFs, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

From Reuters • Dec. 21, 2022

“I feel changing it because of criminal activity is a knee jerk rection and it’s not going to change anything,” she said last week.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 24, 2022

Cross the knee to be stimulated over the other leg, and tap the tendon just below the knee cap, and the knee jerk appears.

From Psychology A Study Of Mental Life by Woodworth, Robert S.