mechanically
5
4.4
- adverb
- /məˈkænɪkli/
:
mecánicamente
- Because I really do believe that if you're just living mechanically… then you have to change your life.
- smiled mechanically
- said mechanically
- ate mechanically
All those who survive, as if life could go on mechanically, as if there were any outside.
- All those who survive, as if life could go on mechanically, as if there were any outside.
- I literally could not name or identify the emotions in my body and I could cry on cue mechanically, but still have a complete emotional block.
Examples
-
Haru begins to speak mechanically, almost as if she were talking about someone else.
Fiction book (2001) -
The workers performed their tasks mechanically, following the routine without thinking about the purpose behind their actions.
-
All those who survive, as if life could go on mechanically, as if there were any outside.
-
Now she had to copy, but she was still doing it mechanically, without concentrating on the words.
Fiction book (1996) -
Sissy answered mechanically, but she was listening to the sound of his voice, not his words.
Fiction book (2002) -
I took a little mirror out of the drawer and mechanically recombed my hair.
Fiction book (1991) -
Quickly, hastily, mechanically, she reassembled the wallet, keeping the slip of paper in her hand.
-
Perhaps it's better to die than to live mechanically... a life that's repetition of repetition.
-
Elaine started with her test questions; Whitman answered them mechanically, his voice a soft monotone.
Fiction book (1995) -
The nurse straightened up, blinking rapidly, and mechanically tucked the warm blankets around his shoulders.
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
257
3.1
Something happens by a machine or system without a person doing it
58
4.4
In a way made by people rather than by nature
3
6.1
To act without feeling, like a machine
Antonyms
How Unemotional
Surface Forms
Morphology
mechanically = mechanical (transparent) = mechanic + al + ly
The adverb is formed by adding '-ly' to 'mechanical'; the figurative sense 'without emotion, as if by a machine' is a transparent metaphorical extension accessible to learners.
Etymology
Mechanically comes from the old Greek mechanē meaning 'machine', the same root as machine and mechanic. A helpful way to remember the second meaning is to think of a machine: to act mechanically is to act like a machine, without feeling or thought, so it means automatic or emotionless.