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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026re•flex /ˈriflɛks/USA pronunciation
n.
- Physiology a movement or a response that is automatic and involuntary, caused by a nerve impulse that reacts quickly to some outside action without waiting for the brain to process it and respond:[countable]Your fingers will withdraw from a hot surface in a reflex.
- Physiologyany automatic, unthinking, often habitual behavior or response: [countable]quick political reflexes.[uncountable;
by + ~]He smiles at other people almost by reflex.
adj. [before a noun]
- Physiologyof or relating to such an automatic response to some outside action:a reflex act.
See -flex-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026re•flex
(adj., n. rē′fleks;v. ri fleks′),USA pronunciation adj.
- Physiologynoting or pertaining to an involuntary response to a stimulus, the nerve impulse from a receptor being transmitted inward to a nerve center that in turn transmits it outward to an effector.
- occurring in reaction;
responsive.
- cast back;
reflected, as light, color, etc.
- bent or turned back.
- Radio and Televisiondesignating a radio apparatus in which the same circuit or part performs two functions.
n.
- Physiology
- Also called re′flex act′. movement caused by a reflex response.
- Also called re′flex ac′tion. the entire physiological process activating such movement.
- Physiologyany automatic, unthinking, often habitual behavior or response.
- the reflection or image of an object, as exhibited by a mirror or the like.
- a reproduction, as if in a mirror.
- a copy;
adaptation.
- reflected light, color, etc.
- Linguistics[Historical Ling.]an element in a language, as a sound, that has developed from a corresponding element in an earlier form of the language:The(ō) in "stone'' is a reflex of Old English ā.
- Radio and Televisiona reflex radio receiver.
- Photographya reflex camera.
v.t.
- to subject to a reflex process.
- to bend, turn, or fold back.
- to arrange in a reflex system.
- Latin reflexus bent back, past participle of reflectere to reflect
- 1500–10
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
reflex n /ˈriːflɛks/- an immediate involuntary response, esp one that is innate, such as coughing or removal of the hand from a hot surface, evoked by a given stimulus
- (as modifier): a reflex action See also reflex arc
- a mechanical response to a particular situation, involving no conscious decision
- (as modifier): a reflex response
- a reflection; an image produced by or as if by reflection
adj /ˈriːflɛks/- (of an angle) between 180° and 360°
- (prenominal) turned, reflected, or bent backwards
vb /rɪˈflɛks/- (transitive) to bend, turn, or reflect backwards
Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin reflexus bent back, from reflectere to reflectreˈflexible adj reˌflexiˈbility n
'reflex' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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