KNEE-JERK REACTION Examples – Definition & Meaning
KNEE-JERK REACTION Examples – Definition & Meaning
This video gives the origin, definition and meaning of KNEE-JERK REACTION. From its roots in physiology in the late nineteenth century, the term now has a common figurative meaning.
Here is a transcript of the video:
Slide 2:
The meaning of a KNEE-JERK REACTION:
a predictable, instinctive, automatic reaction
In physiology, knee-jerk refers to the patellar* reflex, which was discovered and named in 1876.
*patellar: a small bone in front of the knee joint
When a doctor taps this bone, the lower leg normally extends automatically.
Since the 1960s, knee-jerk has been used figuratively to refer to a predictable, automatic response of a person to a problem.
The clipart shows a doctor tapping a patient’s knee.
Slide 3:
Continually IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH
Click the subscribe button
the Bell icon
All
Let’s now consider examples of KNEE-JERK REACTION
Slide 4:
The picture shows the famous incident at the 2022 Oscars ceremony.
Sentence example: Some actors defended Will Smith by saying his slap was just a knee-jerk reaction to Chris Rock’s joke about his wife.
Slide 5:
In the picture we see a driver hitting his car horn.
Sentence example: Try to avoid a knee-jerk reaction when another driver annoys you as the other driver might retaliate and cause a bigger problem.
Slide 6:
The picture shows a graph from the financial markets.
Sentence example: There is often a knee-jerk reaction in financial markets to news of military action, natural disasters, or election results.
Slide 7:
So remember, when you want to describe a person’s response to a situation or problem as instinctive, predictable, or automatic, you may wish to call it a “knee-jerk reaction”.
Slide 8:
Has this video helped you?
LIKE | SHARE | COMMENT NOW!
Slide 9:
Build A Powerful English Vocabulary
with my FREE course on UDEMY
Go to: http://goodenglish.online
Image Credits
Slide 4 – Will Smith
Fair Use
Reuters
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61018821
Slide 5 – driver
Royalty Free
Free Stock photos by Vecteezy
https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos
Slide 6 – financial markets
Royalty Free
Free Stock photos by Vecteezy
https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos
Be sure to check this video with more new words that have come into English in recent decades:
The Origin & Definition of USER-FRIENDLY
Regarding the use of illustrations and photographs used in this video:
Creative Commons Attribution Licence
Others are allowed to copy, distribute, display, and perform copyrighted work – and derivative works based upon it if they give credit to the creator or source.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
Fair Use
Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use.
https://copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html
Royalty Free
The image may be used for almost any business, personal, educational or charitable purpose as long as a credit is published to the creator of the image.
