| 释义 |
knee-jerkˈknee-jerk adjective [only before noun]   when you do or say something without thinking► without thinking · Without thinking, Charlotte hugged the girl to try to comfort her.without thinking about · Most US companies are still spewing out carbon dioxide without thinking about its potential costs. ► off the top of your head spoken if you give an answer off the top of your head , you say it without thinking about it for very long and without being sure it is correct: · "How much is the house worth?" "Off the top of my head, I'd say it's worth maybe $160,000." ► in the heat of the moment if you say or do something in the heat of the moment , you do it very suddenly and without thinking when you are feeling angry or excited, so that you feel sorry about it afterwards: · "In the heat of the moment, my emotions took over and I hit him," Harper admitted.· Our children need to know not only how to prevent pregnancies, but also the long-term effects of a decision they make in the heat of the moment. ► automatic an automatic response, reaction, or answer is one that happens immediately and without you having to think, especially because you have done it many times before: · A teacher's automatic reaction is to correct mistakes in language.· Elizabeth immediately flew into a rage - her automatic response to any kind of criticism. ► automatically if you do something automatically , you do it as a natural reaction and without thinking, because it is what you always do: · His mother continued to talk angrily, and Tim's thoughts automatically switched to more pleasant subjects.· You cannot automatically assume that everything your teacher says is correct. ► reflex a reflex action, response, or movement is a physical movement that you make as a natural reaction to something, without having to think about doing it: · a reflex eye movement· At birth, an infant can perform only simple reflex actions and behaviours. ► knee-jerk reaction a reaction that someone makes without thinking at all, because it is the way they always react - use this about a reaction that you expect and disapprove of: · Their knee-jerk reaction is to object to everything the management suggests.· If a journalist's judgement is questioned, the knee-jerk reaction is usually, "I have a right to print whatever I want, so I will." ► off-the-cuff an off-the-cuff remark is one that you make without thinking carefully and without any preparation: · The press officer said that the president's statement was an off-the-cuff remark, not as an official statement of policy. a knee-jerk reaction, answer etc is what you feel or say about a situation from habit, without thinking about it SYN automatic:  A victim’s knee-jerk reaction to the crime is often revenge. |