REFLEX Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

reflex 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of reflex

as in reactive

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Dissimilar Words

reflex

2 of 2

noun

as in recoil

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of reflex

Adjective

Wyle listened to the two women’s breathing and administered a reflex test on their knees. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 8 May 2026 Gargling vigorously enough that your eyes water slightly engages the same reflex doctors use clinically to check vagal function. — Allison Palmer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 May 2026

Noun

Unfortunately for Ormund, the blood that spews from Roddy’s wound lands in his mouth and the metallic smell triggers his gag reflex. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026 So long as effective communication persists, the reflex to mourn the disuse of a language can be motivated only by something else—nostalgia or, perhaps, the loss of a group’s ability to easily demarcate itself. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for reflex

Recent Examples of Synonyms for reflex

Adjective

Additionally, the metal has a non reactive layer of chromium oxide that further inhibits the strong chemical bond necessary for an actual seasoning to develop.

— Wilder Davies, Bon Appetit Magazine, 17 Sep. 2026
That turns renewals into strategic conversations instead of reactive cost-cutting exercises.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of reactive

Noun

And the fact that its recoil didn’t threaten to detach your retinas with each trigger pull was a big bonus.

— John B. Snow, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2026
On rare occasions, however, one such particle could collide with an atomic nucleus and produce a tiny recoil — precisely the kind of event the LZ experiment is designed to detect.

— Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of recoil

Adjective

Narges Mohammadi, 54, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, was temporarily released from prison for medical reasons earlier this year after falling unconscious and being transferred to a hospital.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
Sharaf connected with a clean 1-2 combination, with the left hook turning Steveson’s head and leaving the Olympic gold medalist unconscious on the canvas.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of unconscious

Noun

Someone else expresses revulsion at seeing dogs devour bodies left to rot, but the disgust doesn’t seem to extend to the killings themselves.

— Jay Weissberg, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
Anyone with even the mildest case of trypophobia—the sense of revulsion from tiny clusters and holes—should avert their eyes.

— Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of revulsion

Adjective

For starters, Drive’s dreamy and unabashed aestheticism represented a break from the rougher, more visceral films on which Winding Refn had built his reputation.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
But by incorporating the recurring ghost of Richie, a thirteen-year-old inmate who befriends the children—Ward combines the Southern Gothic with a socio-realist tradition in a voice that is both visceral and intimate.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of visceral

Adjective

Publications from the Times on down employ clickbait headlines that treat you like a starving rat in a Pavlovian experiment.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
O’Neill, who also has Pavlovian as a starter, named Cristian Torres to ride Robusta because Emisael Jaramillo had commitments at Santa Anita.

— Jay Posner, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026

Definition of Pavlovian

Adjective

Davidsen bucks up her balky husband with a bloodthirsty holler, stiffens her voice against doubt, and, in her final sleepwalking scene, taps into the tender stratum of Lady Macbeth’s subconscious.

— Justin Davidson, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
Not to mention, all the subconscious terrain, where one wrestles with memory, vulnerability, and presence.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of subconscious

Cite this Entry

Style

“Reflex.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reflex. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of reflex

adjective

noun

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