{ } 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. [ 1913 Webster ] 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. 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. [ 1913 Webster ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ]
Variants: Automatic | 
