as in reflex
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Recent Examples of Pavlovian
When the needle finally drops, the effect is Pavlovian.
—
Alison Herman, Variety, 25 July 2025
The result is a political Pavlovian response where even modest tax reforms come with a side of millionaire exodus think-pieces.
—Andrew Leahey, Forbes.com, 20 July 2025
The theme is the same Pavlovian ring tone as its dating show predecessor, but off-kilter — the Wario to Love Island’s Mario.
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 13 July 2025
The response was Pavlovian, the practice ingrained in her by her own mother, who spent much of her time pacifying her insecure and whiny husband.
—Literary Hub, 9 July 2025
George Lucas’ 1977 space saga is pure Pavlovian pop rush and knows how to modernize creaky B-movie genre elements for maximum audience reaction.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2025
Drivers build lives around parking: the work shifts altered to align with the alternate-side-rotation hours, the keys always in the pocket, the Pavlovian alertness at the chirp of an unlocking car.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
After a decade, my body reacts in a Pavlovian way to its stimuli, the scroll of torsos, the dopamine of a red dot notification, a three-toned beep that perks you up in your chair.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them, 11 Feb. 2025
Alison Herman, Variety, 25 July 2025
The result is a political Pavlovian response where even modest tax reforms come with a side of millionaire exodus think-pieces.
—Andrew Leahey, Forbes.com, 20 July 2025
The theme is the same Pavlovian ring tone as its dating show predecessor, but off-kilter — the Wario to Love Island’s Mario.
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 13 July 2025
The response was Pavlovian, the practice ingrained in her by her own mother, who spent much of her time pacifying her insecure and whiny husband.
—Literary Hub, 9 July 2025
George Lucas’ 1977 space saga is pure Pavlovian pop rush and knows how to modernize creaky B-movie genre elements for maximum audience reaction.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2025
Drivers build lives around parking: the work shifts altered to align with the alternate-side-rotation hours, the keys always in the pocket, the Pavlovian alertness at the chirp of an unlocking car.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
After a decade, my body reacts in a Pavlovian way to its stimuli, the scroll of torsos, the dopamine of a red dot notification, a three-toned beep that perks you up in your chair.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them, 11 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Pavlovian
Adjective
-
This realistic doctor’s coat has everything your aspiring doctor needs to give their patients a check-up, including a face mask, a stethoscope with sound effects (AAA batteries not included), thermometer, syringe, reflex hammer, and reusable name tag.—
Katrina Cossey,
Parents,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The reflex trade was a textbook Fed-easing play to rotate out of big, expensive growth stocks and into lower-quality, more cyclical small-caps and financials .—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Equal parts hilarious and disturbing (puberty in a nutshell), Polinger melds body horror with a razor-sharp insight into the subconscious psyche of adolescence.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Breton aimed to access the unconscious through dream and automatism, a surrealist technique of creating art without conscious control, allowing spontaneous expression from the subconscious mind, free from rational thought or aesthetic rules.—
Sally Jane Brown,
The Conversation,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Darcy’s past and current traumas become more visceral when held up to her joys.—
Book Marks
September 25,
Literary Hub,
25 Sep. 2025
-
The result is a work that’s equally intellectual, political and visceral, reflecting on the nature of artistic creation, but also highlighting Binoche’s personality and taste for boundary-pushing challenges.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
As the protagonist Ben in Night of the Living Dead (1968), Duane Jones unveiled a distinct facet of pre-conditioned Black martyrdom.—
Malik Peay,
Rolling Stone,
7 Feb. 2023
-
The new formula is infused with a luscious blend of flower oils so that lashes feel conditioned and supple to the touch.—
Daisy Maldonado,
SELF,
13 Sep. 2022
Adjective
-
In the midst of the chaos of her name being thrown around, GloRilla fired off a subliminal tweet about a certain guy blowing up her phone, which many thought was about Thug.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Here, the affection is not romantic but familial, flowing in soft, subliminal waves between parents and their adult children.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
But many of its largest moderation decisions—like its decision to take down thousands of bizarre child-exploitation videos in 2017—have been reactive, coming after inquiries from news organizations.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
1 Oct. 2025
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The resulting products are highly reactive and rapidly capture and store atmospheric carbon.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In the critical texts and curatorial essays reprinted here, Enwezor repeatedly engaged with artists who were on their own conscious or unconscious quests for identities that could not be reduced to their appearances or to the way their lives had been historicized.—
Simon Njami,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Chop off the unconscious scientist's hand!—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The Idaho Transportation Department uses automatic traffic counters along the highway to calculate the average number of vehicles each day.—
Sally Krutzig,
Idaho Statesman,
26 Sep. 2025
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Customers who do not qualify for the automatic payouts will have to wait until after the first payout.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pavlovian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Pavlovian. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
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