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Definition of reflex noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

reflex

noun
 
/ˈriːfleks/
 
/ˈriːfleks/
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  1. an action or a movement of your body that happens naturally in response to something and that you cannot control; something that you do without thinking
    • The doctor tested her reflexes.
    • to have quick/slow reflexes
    • a reflex response/reaction
    • Only the goalkeeper's reflexes (= his ability to react quickly) stopped the ball from going in.
    • Almost as a reflex action, I grab my pen as the phone rings.
    Extra Examples
    • Almost by reflex, he helped himself to a drink.
    • He reacts with lightning fast reflexes.
    • The rapid movement of an object close to the eye triggers an automatic reflex.
    • The training is designed to sharpen the fighter's reflexes.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • fast
    • good
    • lightning
    verb + reflex
    • trigger
    • control
    • hone
    reflex + noun
    • action
    • response
    preposition
    • by reflex
    See full entry
    Word Originearly 16th cent. (as a noun denoting reflection): from Latin reflexus ‘a bending back’, from reflectere ‘bend back’, from re- ‘back’ + flectere ‘to bend’.
See reflex in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee reflex in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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