How to Use reflexive in a Sentence

reflexive

adjective
Definition of reflexivenext
  • For many people, the reflexive response to this kind of demand is to say no.
  • In the sentence “We forced ourselves to finish the assignment,” the word “ourselves” is a reflexive pronoun.
  • The end of the Democrats’ reflexive support for Israel.
    — Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 21 May 2021
  • The sound is reflexive, a signal that one’s having a bit of trouble.
    — Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Oct. 2023
  • But Clarence Thomas has shown in his time on the Court that reflexive deference to them is unwise.
    — Adam J. MacLeod, National Review, 22 Oct. 2021
  • Of course, some of this disapproval is a reflexive GOP reaction to just the name Biden.
    — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 18 Feb. 2022
  • In 1996, genre king Wes Craven broke the mold of the slasher movie with his self-reflexive and metatextual Scream — and horror hasn't been the same since.
    — Sezin Koehler, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2022
  • The buccal phase is the body’s reflexive response to the actual presence of food in the mouth (which aids in swallowing).
    — Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2023
  • But there’s a reflexive gatekeeper who lives in my head.
    — Soleil Ho, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Mar. 2021
  • So far, too few politicians on both the right and left are moving away from the reflexive tough-on-crime rhetoric that has proven to be so devastating in the past.
    — Time, 3 Nov. 2022
  • Now that the time for reflexive action in responding to the disaster is over, take a step back and realign your brand to the basics.
    — Rohit Kumar, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2021
  • This reflexive inhalation will fill the lowest part of your lungs without adding tension to the torso or the neck.
    — Carol Kinsey Goman, Forbes, 6 June 2022
  • After all the shouting, the reflexive restrictionism of the Trump era has become the default—and Biden, at least, doesn’t want to go back.
    — Felipe De La Hoz, The New Republic, 1 Mar. 2023
  • Can we be blamed for flinching or dropping into a reflexive crouch this year?
    — Michael Taylor, ExpressNews.com, 7 July 2020
  • For most drivers, the reflexive response to a flat tire or dead battery is to call an automobile club like AAA.
    — Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, 1 Oct. 2021
  • Now, on one level, this kind of reflexive hype isn’t surprising.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2021
  • But despite her deep and almost reflexive love of going to the movies, Walls doesn’t plan on returning anytime soon.
    — Rebecca Rubin, chicagotribune.com, 24 Feb. 2021
  • In the 2000s, reflexive anti-Dan sentiment even found its way into the work of actual Steely Dan fans.
    — Alex Pappademas, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2023
  • Montgomery County needs school board members who will push back on reflexive school closures not backed by the science.
    — Nicole Asbury, Washington Post, 6 July 2022
  • Gal Gadot is game, but there’s a slightly downbeat earnestness about her that doesn’t mesh with the reflexive quippiness of the dialogue.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Aug. 2023
  • The reflexive response is to hide mistakes or point fingers elsewhere.
    — Ron Carucci, Forbes, 4 June 2022
  • The flowers feature reflexive petals that bend backward to form a turban shape and are painted in hues of yellow and orange, covered in small brown spots.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 29 May 2022
  • But in order to do so, journalists focused on global health need to be mindful and reflexive.
    — Quartz, 7 Dec. 2022
  • But dad’s reflexive action to grab his cell phone and run, leaving his family behind, causes some doubt about his true character in the minds of mom and the kids.
    — Ed Symkus, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2020
  • And there has been a reflexive reaction among the president’s critics: The Villain must always be wrong!
    — Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 7 Apr. 2020
  • To many Malaysians, the surprising thing about this episode was not the reflexive sexism of the bureaucracy, but the fact that the bureaucrats changed course in response to the indignation.
    — The Economist, 30 Apr. 2020
  • Sexism was part of it, the sort of reflexive brush-off faced by many women breaking into more powerful roles in business and the military, in arts and academia.
    — USA Today, 9 Apr. 2021
  • Furthermore, the idea of a reflexive use of the term reportedly didn’t exist in popular language at the time.
    — Sarah Midkiff, refinery29.com, 24 Nov. 2020
  • The industry’s reflexive defensiveness is a product of years of conflict with animal rights activists and a bitter us-vs-them dynamic that often stands in the way of honest and productive discussion about the field and its problems.
    — Erika Fry, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2024
  • Today there is a reflexive tendency to think of literature, and also other forms of culture, as an extra, as an ornament, as icing on the cake, as something that is expendable and unnecessary.
    — Merve Emre, The New York Review of Books, 13 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reflexive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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