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mechanical

mechanical

39 3.9
Moving or acting like a machine without feeling
  • adjective
  • /məˈkænɪkəl/
translation icon : mecánico
  • You can see the like mechanical components of this antenna.
  • become mechanical
  • rather mechanical
  • human or mechanical

It kind of works almost in a mechanical way within the plot.

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Examples

  • Many modern vehicles use mechanical systems to help with steering and braking.

  • The assembly line operated with a mechanical efficiency that ensured every product was consistently produced.

  • And I, I, I put them together and I made this mechanical hand.

  • Very nice solid build, mechanical key caps.

  • I'm thinking mechanical for me 'cause I like building things.

  • I own at least seven mechanical keyboards.

  • It kind of works almost in a mechanical way within the plot.

  • Next, they will control mechanical legs and exoskeletons.

  • His eyes darted from one object to another, his head making small, mechanical adjustments.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Only iron discipline had kept him going, following the mechanical routines of running a regiment.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

automated
vsmechanical
74 4.0

Machines or computers run a system instead of people

emphasizes likeness to nonliving motion rather than simply operating automatically
robotic
vsmechanical
58 4.6

Made like a machine that works by itself

covers general machine operation or tool use rather than programmed likeness
mechanistic
vsmechanical
7 7.4

Treating things as if they work like a machine and ignoring their complexity

is about real machine operation or lifeless movement rather than explanatory view
mechanized
vsmechanical
  • Specialized
5 4.2

Machines do the work instead of people, for example in factories or farms

concerns behavior or movement like a nonliving thing rather than tool replacement
machine-driven
vsmechanical
  • Specialized
1 4.2

A thing that uses machines or computers instead of people to do work

highlights appearance or behavior like a nonliving device rather than mere operation
machine-controlled
vsmechanical
  • Specialized
1 4.8

Machines run it with little or no human help

focuses more on resemblance to a lifeless movement than on control method
mechanic
vsmechanical
  • Archaic
9.3

Moving or acting in a regular, automatic way with no feeling

focuses on being operated by tools or machines rather than lifelike motion

Antonyms

Not done by machines, often electronic or done by hand

Compounds

9 3.9

The study of how to design, build, and use machines like engines and tools

A person who designs and builds machines like cars and engines and their parts

A machine with moving parts that does a particular job

mechanical energy
  • Specialized
1 3.9

Ability of an object to move things because of its motion or its position

mechanical man
  • Archaic
1 7.5

A machine made to look and act like a person

mechanical system
  • Specialized
1 4.3

A group of connected parts that work together to do a job

mechanical drawing
  • Specialized
1 4.4

Skill in making exact plans and pictures for machines and buildings

mechanical mixture
  • Specialized
5.8

A mix of different parts, like a salad, that can be separated by hand or a filter

mechanical phenomenon
  • Specialized
6.1

An event that shows how objects move or stay still, like friction

6.2

A piano that plays by itself using a paper roll with holes to move the keys

mechanical power
  • Specialized
4.1

How fast a machine does work, like moving or lifting things

mechanical press
  • Specialized
4.9

A machine that uses force to shape, cut, or squeeze materials

A set of actions done regularly without thinking

mechanical stress
  • Specialized
5.1

Force inside a material that acts on each small part because of outside forces

mechanical advantage
  • Specialized
4.2

How much a machine increases the push you give to do a job

A fixed, routine way of doing something that lacks creativity

9.9

A steel support used in mines or tunnels that lets parts slide to take pressure safely

mechanical drawing
  • Specialized
4.1

A detailed measured picture that shows a machine or part for making it

How Mechanical

robotic
58 4.6
mechanical
39 3.9
natural
1.0

Surface Forms

mechanical positive

Morphology

mechanical = mechanic (semi-transparent) = mechanic + al

The word is built regularly from mechanic + -al, but the machine-like behavior sense is a figurative extension rather than a fully literal composition.

Etymology

The word mechanical comes from an old Greek word mekhane meaning 'device' or 'machine', and the same root is in machine and mechanic. So when a movement or action is mechanical, it is like a machine — regular, automatic, and not like a living thing.