MEANING
Relating to the body’s rapid stress response that prepares it to confront or escape a perceived threat.
Use it for
automatic threat physiology; stress escalationExplain bodily readiness without making a moral judgment about behavior.
Words that belong together
- fight-or-flight response
- fight-or-flight reaction
- fight-or-flight activation
On the page
Her fight-or-flight response activated before she recognized the sound.
The lecturer described the fight-or-flight reaction without calling it a conscious choice.
Even a false alarm can trigger fight-or-flight changes in the body.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- fight-or-flight
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Usage notes
Primary category: fear. Technical but widely understood; the expression does not mean every person literally fights or flees. Freezing and other responses also occur. Normally non-gradable in this sense; degree words describe intensity, not a regular comparison.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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