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Definition of knee–jerk
: readily predictable : automatic knee–jerk reactions; also, disapproving : reacting in a readily predictable way The man was such a bleeding-heart knee-jerk liberal that you could predict the rest of the column after reading the first sentence. — Andrew M. Greeley
From the M-W Editors
First Known Use of knee–jerk
1951
KNEE–JERK Defined for English Language Learners
knee-jerk
play
adjective
Definition of knee–jerk for English Language Learners
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: occurring quickly and without thought
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: often reacting quickly and without thought
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