WordNet
startle reflex
n. a normal reflex of young infants; a sudden loud noise causes the child to stretch out the arms and flex the legs [syn: Moro reflex]
Usage examples of "startle reflex".
She had to repress her startle reflex when she recognized Hadron Tharn.
He dodged backward in an instinctive startle reflex, but he had spent his entire school career playing athletic sports of one kind or another, and even as he was pulling back his head he was reaching with his hand.
Is the startle reflex of human infants today to prevent falling from the treetops?