Pavlovian response

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s like hearing the sizzle of fajitas being paraded through a dining room, creating a Pavlovian response.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 24, 2024

“From the time that you get the ding on your Apple Watch that says, ‘New results are in your chart,’ it’s a sort of Pavlovian response of anxiety that kicks in,” Ms. Collins said.

From New York Times • Oct. 3, 2022

“If there’s two words that make me kind of have a Pavlovian response and memory of being a child and running around, it’s ‘licorice’ and ‘pizza,’” Anderson says.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 26, 2021

Seeing the program's hashtag trend on Twitter is enough to elicit a Pavlovian response at delighting in whatever new memes may have resulted in that day's smackdown.

From Salon • Aug. 5, 2021

I have an instant Pavlovian response to it, remembering how I’d felt sitting in church with him looking at me through it.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson