knee jerk reaction
Unthinking immediate response
A knee jerk reaction is an automatic, unthinking response to a situation—like the involuntary leg kick when a doctor taps below your kneecap.
The phrase usually carries criticism, suggesting someone acted without reflection: His knee jerk reaction was to blame the new employee.
Often hyphenated as an adjective: a knee-jerk response to criticism.
- reflexInvoluntary stimulus response
- gut instinctImmediate unreasoned knowing
- impulsivityActing without considering consequences
- quick drawRapid weapon retrieval
- trigger happyOverly eager to shoot
instinct · heuristic · overreaction · jump to conclusions · snap judgment · snap decision · split second · muscle memory · automaticity · prejudice · rashness · hair-trigger · first impression · stereotype · rapid response · overgeneralization · kneejerk · confirmation bias
knee jerk reactionmeasured response
Controlled, proportional reply
deliberation · informed decision · sleeping on it · due diligence · circumspection
knee, jerk, reaction, kneeling, kneels, jerked, jerking, reactions, react