knee-jerk
adjective
\ ˈnē-ˌjərk
, -ˈjərk\
, -ˈjərk\
Definition of knee-jerk
(Entry 1 of 2)
: readily predictable : automatic
knee-jerk reactions
also, disapproving
: reacting in a readily predictable way
The man was such a bleeding-heart knee-jerk liberal that you could predict the rest of the column after reading the first sentence. — Andrew M. Greeley