reflex

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈriflɛks/ UK /ˈriːflɛks/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an automatic, involuntary response to a stimulus

The doctor tapped his knee to test the reflex.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an automatic, involuntary... reaction response instinctautomatismimpulse

Opposites

volition

Word family

Forms réflexes

Derived forms reflexivereflexologyreflexly

Related forms reflect reflection flex flexible

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Etymology

From Latin reflexus ('a bending back'), past participle of reflectere ('to bend back'), from re- ('back') + flectere ('to bend').

re- Latin reflectere Latin flectere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# reflex

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈriflɛks/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈriːflɛks/

## Meanings
1. an automatic, involuntary response to a stimulus

## Examples
- The doctor tapped his knee to test the reflex.

## Synonyms
- reaction
- response
- instinct
- automatism
- impulse

## Antonyms
- volition

## Derived Forms
- reflexive
- reflexology
- reflexly

## Related Forms
- reflect
- reflection
- flex
- flexible

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: re-
- Root: reflectere
- Root: flectere

## Etymology
From Latin reflexus ('a bending back'), past participle of reflectere ('to bend back'), from re- ('back') + flectere ('to bend').

## AI Etymology
Reflex comes from Latin reflexus ('a bending back'), past participle of reflectere ('to bend back'), from re- ('back') + flectere ('to bend'). The historical chain includes Latin re-, Latin reflectere, and Latin flectere. Older glosses in the chain include "a bending back", "to bend back", "back", and "to bend", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, reflex is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English noun and adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun and adjective, with the sense "an automatic, involuntary response to a stimulus". English derivatives include reflexive, reflexology, and reflexly; related forms include reflect, reflection, flex, and flexible. The result is an English noun and adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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