knee-jerk
The word “knee-jerk” has 2 syllables: knee-jerk
It's pronounced as /ˈniː ˌdʒɜːrk/
What is synonym and antonym for knee-jerk?
In the thesaurus, “knee-jerk” has 64 synonyms and 29 antonyms.
Here are synonyms and antonyms for knee-jerk along with examples of usage in sentences.
Synonyms for knee-jerk
- abrupt
- ad-lib
- automatic
- automatic response
- blind
- casual
- chance
- chancy
- conditioned
- expected
- extemporaneous
- extempore
- haphazard
- hasty
- hit-or-miss
- impetuous
- impromptu
- improvised
- impulsive
- inadvertent
- instinctive
- instinctual
- involuntary
- involuntary impulse
- knee jerk reaction
- mechanic
- mechanical
- mindless
- natural
- off-the-cuff
- offhand
- offhanded
- patellar reflex
- pavlovian
- predictable
- quadriceps reflex
- quick
- random
- rash
- reactive
- ready
- reflex
- robotic
- simple
- snap
- spontaneous
- spur-of-the-moment
- subliminal
- sudden
- unconscious
- unconsidered
- unforced
- unintended
- unintentional
- unplanned
- unpremeditated
- unprepared
- unprompted
- unreasoned
- unrehearsed
- unstudied
- unwilling
- unwitting
- visceral
Antonyms for knee-jerk
- advised
- aforethought
- calculated
- careful
- conscious
- considered
- cultivated
- deliberate
- designed
- foresighted
- forethoughtful
- intended
- intentional
- measured
- meticulous
- nonmechanical
- predetermined
- prepared
- projected
- reasoned
- refined
- rehearsed
- studied
- thoughtful
- volitional
- voluntary
- wilful
- willed
- willful
Meanings of knee-jerk
- noun
- A sudden reflexive movement of the leg below the knee, as a reaction to a tap to the tendon just below the patella (kneecap).
- adjective
- Unthinking, not carefully considered, (nearly) automatic, spontaneous, easily predictable.
Example Sentences
- His knee-jerk reaction was to defend his friend without thinking.
- The politician's knee-jerk response to the criticism was to deny all accusations.
- She had a knee-jerk reaction to the surprise announcement and immediately shouted out.
- His knee-jerk answer to the problem was not well thought out.
- The knee-jerk response to the new policy was mostly negative.
On this page you'll find 93 synonyms, antonyms, or another words to knee-jerk, such as: abrupt, ad-lib, advised, aforethought, automatic, automatic response, blind.
Make sure to choose synonyms and antonyms that are appropriate for the context of the sentence.
Related Words
obsessional
- automatic
- besetting
- capricious
- compulsive
- conditioned
- driven
- impulsive
- instinctive
- involuntary
- irrepressible
- knee-jerk
- mechanical
- obsessive
- reflex
- spontaneous
- unconscious
- uncontrollable
- unpredictable
- unthinking
- unwitting
- whimsical
obsessive
- aberrant
- abnormal
- affected
- aloof
- anxious
- autocratic
- automatic
- basket case
- besetting
- biased
- bigoted
- boastful
- boasting
- bragging
- bugged
- bundle of nerves
- burning
- capricious
- choked
- clutched
- compulsive
- conceited
- conditioned
- contumacious
- corybantic
- credulous
- delirious
- demented
- deviant
- devoted
- disordered
- disoriented
- distracted
- distraught
- disturbed
- dogmatic
- domineering
- driven
- eerie
- egocentric
- egoistic
- egoistical
- egomaniacal
- egotistical
- enslaving
- enthusiastic
- erratic
- excited
- extreme
- fanatical
- fervent
- fervid
- fevered
- feverish
- fiery
- frantic
- frenetic
- frenzied
- furibund
- furious
- haughty
- headstrong
- heated
- hectic
- high on
- high-strung
- hooking
- hung up
- hyper
- hysteric
- idiosyncratic
- immoderate
- impassioned
- impatient
- impulsive
- in a lather
- inborn
- incorrigible
- individualistic
- infatuated
- inflated
- ingrained
- inherent
- inhibited
- inner-directed
- insane
- instinctive
- intimate
- intrinsic
- introverted
- involuntary
- irrepressible
- isolated
- knee-jerk
- lost it
- mad
- manic
- mechanical
- memorable
- monomaniacal
- nagging
- narcissistic
- narrow-minded
- nervous
- nervous wreck
- nostalgic
- nuts for
- obsessed
- obsessional
- obstinate
- ongoing
- opinionated
- overwrought
- partial
- partisan
- passionate
- persistent
- personal
- phrenetic
- pompous
- possessed
- prejudiced
- prideful
- proud
- psychoneurotic
- puffed up
- rabid
- radical
- raving
- recurrent
- reflex
- repeated
- restless
- self-absorbed
- self-admiring
- self-centered
- self-important
- self-involved
- self-seeking
- self-serving
- selfish
- single-minded
- snobbish
- spontaneous
- spooky
- stubborn
- stuck on oneself
- stuck-up
- subjective
- superior
- swollen
- turned on
- unbalanced
- unconscious
- uncontrollable
- unhealthy
- unpredictable
- unruly
- unscrewed
- unstable
- unthinking
- unwitting
- upset
- uptight
- vain
- vainglorious
- violent
- visionary
- weirded out
- whimsical
- wigged out
- wild
- willful
- wired
- wrapped up in oneself
- zealous
uncalculated
- abrupt
- accidental
- adventitious
- aimless
- automatic
- begrudging
- blind
- casual
- chance
- coincidental
- compulsory
- conditioned
- contingent
- desultory
- extemporaneous
- fluky
- forced
- fortuitous
- from left field
- grudging
- gut
- habitual
- half-cocked
- haphazard
- hasty
- hit-or-miss
- hurried
- ill-advised
- impetuous
- impromptu
- impulsive
- inadvertent
- inattentive
- incidental
- inherent
- innate
- instinctive
- instinctual
- involuntary
- knee-jerk
- latent
- lost
- not bargained for
- obligatory
- out of the blue
- purposeless
- random
- reflex
- reflexive
- reluctant
- repressed
- rushed
- spontaneous
- startling
- subconscious
- subliminal
- sudden
- suppressed
- surprise
- unadvised
- unanticipated
- unaware
- unconscious
- unconsidered
- uncontrolled
- undeliberate
- unexpected
- unforeseen
- unheeding
- unintended
- unintentional
- unlooked-for
- unmeditated
- unmindful
- unplanned
- unpremeditated
- unprompted
- unrealized
- unstudied
- unthinking
- unwilling
- unwitting
- will-less
vibes
- acknowledgment
- affect
- affection
- affectivity
- agape
- agitation
- ambience
- anger
- answer
- antiphon
- anxiety
- appreciation
- apprehension
- apprehensiveness
- ardor
- atmosphere
- attitude
- augury
- aura
- awareness
- back talk
- backfire
- backlash
- bad vibes
- bodement
- boding
- boomerang
- brotherly love
- caution
- chi
- chill
- christian love
- clairvoyance
- clue
- color
- comeback
- commotion
- compensation
- concern
- consciousness
- counter
- counteraction
- counterbalance
- counterpoise
- crosscurrent
- desire
- despair
- despondency
- direction
- discernment
- discomposure
- disquietude
- disturbance
- divination
- double-take
- dread
- drive
- echo
- ecstasy
- eddy
- elation
- emotion
- empathy
- energy
- esp
- evocation
- excitability
- excitement
- extrasensory perception
- fear
- feedback
- feel
- feeling
- feeling in bones
- fervor
- finish
- flavor
- foreboding
- forecast
- foreknowledge
- foreshadowing
- foresight
- forethought
- foretoken
- forewarning
- funny feeling
- good feeling
- grief
- gut feeling
- gut reaction
- handwriting on the wall
- happiness
- harbinger
- heart
- hint
- hit
- hunch
- idea
- identification
- impression
- inclination
- indication
- inner light
- insight
- insinuation
- inspiration
- instinct
- intimation
- intuition
- intuitiveness
- joy
- judgment
- karma
- keen intuition
- keenness
- ki
- kick
- kickback
- knee-jerk
- knee-jerk reaction
- life
- lifeblood
- light
- lip
- love
- loving concern
- mana
- melancholy
- misgiving
- mood
- murmur
- nature
- note
- omen
- opinion
- orgone
- overtone
- palpation
- passion
- perception
- perceptiveness
- perturbation
- portent
- prediction
- premonition
- prenotion
- presage
- presentiment
- pride
- prognostic
- prognostication
- propensity
- prophecy
- qi
- quality
- rage
- rapport
- rationale
- reaction
- reagency
- rebound
- reception
- receptivity
- reciprocation
- recoil
- reflection
- reflex
- regional detail
- rejoinder
- relating
- remorse
- repercussion
- reply
- respond
- response
- responsiveness
- retaliation
- retort
- return
- reverberation
- revulsion
- riposte
- riptide
- sadness
- sakti
- sass
- satisfaction
- second sight
- semblance
- sensation
- sense
- sense of place
- sensibility
- sensitiveness
- sensitivity
- sentiment
- shakti
- shame
- sign
- sinking feeling
- snappy comeback
- sorrow
- soul
- spirit
- suggestion
- surface
- susceptibility
- suspicion
- sympathetic response
- sympathy
- tactility
- taction
- take
- taste
- telepathy
- tendency
- tenor
- thought
- threat
- thrill
- tinge
- tingle
- touch
- trace
- tremor
- trend
- underflow
- undertone
- undertow
- vehemence
- vibrations
- warmth
- warning
- wind change
- winds
- winds of change
- wisecrack
- world soul
- worriment
- zeal
reaction
- acknowledgment
- answer
- attitude
- back talk
- backfire
- backlash
- backsliding
- boomerang
- comeback
- compensation
- counteraction
- counterbalance
- counterpoise
- counterreaction
- counterresponse
- counterrevolution
- double-take
- echo
- feedback
- feeling
- hit
- kick
- kickback
- knee-jerk
- lip
- opinion
- reagency
- rebound
- reception
- receptivity
- reciprocation
- recoil
- reflection
- reflex
- regression
- rejoinder
- relapse
- repercussion
- reply
- response
- retort
- retreat
- retrenchment
- retrogression
- return
- reverberation
- revulsion
- right
- right wing
- rise
- sass
- snappy comeback
- status quo
- take
- toryism
- vibes
- wisecrack
- withdrawal