reflex Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus
    inborn reflex; innate reflex; reflex action; instinctive reflex; reflex response; unconditioned reflex; physiological reaction.
  2. adjective satellite without volition or conscious control
    automatic; reflexive.
    • the automatic shrinking of the pupils of the eye in strong light
    • a reflex knee jerk
    • sneezing is reflexive

WordNet

Re"flex adjective
Etymology
L. reflexus, p. p. of reflectere: cf. F. réflexe. See Reflect.
Definitions
  1. Directed back; attended by reflection; retroactive; introspective.
    The reflex act of the soul, or the turning of the intellectual eye inward upon its own actions. Sir M. Hale.
  2. Produced in reaction, in resistance, or in return.
  3. (Physiol.) Of, pertaining to, or produced by, stimulus or excitation without the necessary intervention of consciousness.
Re"flex noun
Etymology
L. reflexus a bending back. See Reflect.
Definitions
  1. Reflection; the light reflected from an illuminated surface to one in shade.
    Yon gray is not the morning's eye, 'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow. Shak.
    On the depths of death there swims The reflex of a human face. Tennyson.
  2. (Physiol.) An involuntary movement produced by reflex action.
Re*flex" transitive verb
Etymology
L. reflexus, p. p. of reflectere. See Reflect.
Definitions
  1. To reflect. Obs. Shak.
  2. To bend back; to turn back. J. Gregory.

Webster 1913