REFLEX Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

reflex 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of reflex

as in reactive

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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

That reflex is not necessarily the same with Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell or Bam Adebayo. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2026 There’s like this neuroendocrine reflex that goes from the skin up to the brain back to the tissue. — Quanta Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for reflex

Recent Examples of Synonyms for reflex

Adjective

When businesses can access the contextual infrastructure to power their workforce, planning stops being a reactive exercise and can become a strategic capability.

— Joanna Riley, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Empa Empa's underlying epoxy chemistry uses reactive phosphorus-containing molecules to introduce dynamic bonds into the thermoset.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of reactive

Adjective

Another of the crew, a South Korean, was discovered unconscious by coast guard rescuers before being sent to a hospital on the mainland and declared dead there, the coast guard said.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026
The massage therapist was found unconscious on July 30 near the intersection of 28th Street and Prospect Avenue, according to Capt.

— Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 2 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

Noun

The gains came largely from a rebound in leisure and hospitality and local government, after declines in both over the summer.

— Jake Angelo, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Of course, some of those saves will have seen ’keepers hold onto the ball or push it out of play, but others will have presented an opportunity for a rebound.

— Cerys Jones, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of rebound

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

Hoover’s post-game comments may not have been a conscious shot back at his former head coach, but this could be a case of a subconscious hard at work.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Sep. 2026
Solms also makes a credible claim that Freud was right in speaking about a subconscious drive to seek pleasure.

— The Week US, TheWeek, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of subconscious

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“Reflex.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reflex. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of reflex

adjective

noun

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