reflex: Meaning and Definition of

re•flex

Pronunciation: (adj., n.rē'fleksv.ri&sylpfleks'), [key]
— adj.
  1. noting 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.
  2. occurring in reaction; responsive.
  3. cast back; reflected, as light, color, etc.
  4. bent or turned back.
  5. designating a radio apparatus in which the same circuit or part performs two functions.
—n.
    1. Also calledre&prim;flex act&prim;.movement caused by a reflex response.
    2. Also calledre&prim;flex ac&prim;tion.the entire physiological process activating such movement.
  1. any automatic, unthinking, often habitual behavior or response.
  2. the reflection or image of an object, as exhibited by a mirror or the like.
  3. a reproduction, as if in a mirror.
  4. a copy; adaptation.
  5. reflected light, color, etc.
  6. an element in a language, as a sound, that has developed from a corresponding element in an earlier form of the language:(ō) in “stone” is a reflex of Old English ā. The
  7. a reflex radio receiver.
  8. a reflex camera.
—v.t.
  1. to subject to a reflex process.
  2. to bend, turn, or fold back.
  3. to arrange in a reflex system.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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