Definition of "knee-jerk" []

• Slang Easily predictable; automatic: "quick, easy laughs and knee-jerk responses” ( New York). (adjective)
• Slang Reacting spontaneously in the expected manner: a knee-jerk cynic. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He also accused Cameron of promoting what he called "knee-jerk gimmicks" to address the problems."
• "And for any of you whining pantwetting conservatives out there who spout your knee-jerk "liberal media conspiracy" nonsense all the time, keep this in mind ... or try ... in whatever passes as a mind for you people."
• "They hate our society so much that their knee-jerk reaction is to condemn in the most vile terms anything that may protect our country."