Reflexively

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In an automatic or instinctive manner, without conscious thought or deliberation
2. In a manner that is immediate and unthinking, responding without any intentional consideration or awareness
3. Acting in a way that is driven by instinct rather than conscious choice or reflection

Etymology: "Reflexively" is a plain formation: the adjective "reflexive" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added. The adjective "reflexive" is itself a bit of a technical term, borrowed from the sense of a bending-back or turning-back, as in a reflex action, so the adverb inherits a physical image of something turning back on itself rather than being chosen by deliberate thought. The ending "-ly" has a long pedigree. It descends from Old English "-līċe", which was used to turn adjectives into adverbs, and it reaches back through Proto-Germanic "-līkō" to a root meaning "body" or "form," the same root that gives English "like" in its older sense of "having the form of." So "reflexively" literally carries the idea of acting in the shape or manner of a reflex, which is why the word fits so neatly with unthinking, automatic responses.

Synonyms: instinctively, automatically, unconsciously, involuntarily, habitually

Antonyms: deliberately, consciously, intentionally, thoughtfully, voluntarily