# reflex

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɹiːflɛks/ · frequency rank #16,321

## Definitions
1. An automatic response to a simple stimulus which does not require mental processing.
2. The descendant of an earlier language element, such as a word or phoneme, in a daughter language.
3. The ancestor word corresponding to a descendant.
4. The descendant of anything from an earlier time, such as a cultural myth.
5. A reflection or an image produced by a reflection; the light reflected from an illuminated surface to one in shade.

## Etymology
From Late Latin reflexus, past participle of reflectere (“to bend back”), equivalent to re- + flex. Photography sense is from noun sense meaning “reflection”. Compare English reflect.

## Easily confused with
- **relax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reflex-vs-relax)
- **rifle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reflex-vs-rifle)
- **Rolex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reflex-vs-rolex)
- **rifles** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reflex-vs-rifles)
- **reflux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reflex-vs-reflux)
- **refuel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reflex-vs-refuel)
- **refer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/refer-vs-reflex)
- **reflect** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reflect-vs-reflex)

## Common misspellings (9)
`erflex`, `refelx`, `refflex`, `reflexx`, `refllex`, `reflxe`, `relfex`, `rfelex`, `rreflex`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/reflex