self-acting self-activating self-moving self-regulating
(gcide) | Automatic \Au`to*mat"ic\, Automatical \Au`to*mat"ic*al\, a. [Cf.
F. automatique. See Automaton.]
1. Having an inherent power of action or motion.
[1913 Webster]
Nothing can be said to be automatic. --Sir H. Davy.
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2. Pertaining to, or produced by, an automaton; of the nature
of an automaton; self-acting or self-regulating under
fixed conditions; operating with minimal human
intervention; -- esp. applied to machinery or devices in
which certain things formerly or usually done by hand are
done by the machine or device itself; as, the automatic
feed of a lathe; automatic gas lighting; an automatic
engine or switch; an automatic mouse; an automatic
transmission. The opposite of manual.
Note: Narrower terms are: {autoloading(prenominal),
semiautomatic ; {automated, machine-controlled,
machine-driven ; {self-acting, self-activating,
self-moving, self-regulating ; {self-locking ;
{self-winding . Also See: mechanical.
[1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
3. (Physiol.) Not voluntary; not depending on the will;
mechanical; controlled by the autonomic nervous system;
without conscious control; as, automatic movements or
functions. The opposite of voluntary.
Syn: reflex(prenominal), reflexive,involuntary
[1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
Unconscious or automatic reasoning. --H. Spenser.
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4. like the unthinking functioning of a machine. an automatic
`thank you'
Syn: automaton-like, automatonlike, machinelike,
machine-like, robotlike.
[WordNet 1.5]
Automatic arts, such economic arts or manufacture as are
carried on by self-acting machinery. --Ure.
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