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automatic: Definition, Synonyms and Much More From Answers.com

au·to·mat·ic (ô'tə-măt'ĭk) pronunciation
adj.

    1. Acting or operating in a manner essentially independent of external influence or control: an automatic light switch; a budget deficit that triggered automatic spending cuts.
    2. Self-regulating: an automatic washing machine.
    1. Acting or done without volition or conscious control; involuntary: automatic shrinking of the pupils of the eyes in strong light. See synonyms at spontaneous.
    2. Acting or done as if by machine; mechanical: an automatic reply to a familiar question.
    1. Capable of firing continuously until ammunition is exhausted or the trigger is released: an automatic rifle.
    2. Semiautomatic: an automatic pistol.

n.

  1. An automatic machine or device.
    1. An automatic firearm.
    2. A semiautomatic firearm.
  3. A transmission or a motor vehicle with an automatic gear-shifting mechanism.
  4. Football. See audible.

idiom:

on automatic

  1. Functioning by or as if by automatic machine or device.

[From Greek automatos : auto-, auto- + -matos, willing.]

au'to·mat'i·cal·ly adv.
au'to·ma·tic'i·ty (-mə-tĭs'ĭ-tē) n.

WORD HISTORY   The words automatic pilot or automatic transmission bring to mind mechanical devices that operate with minimal human intervention. Yet the word automatic, which goes back to the Greek word automatos, “acting of one's own will, self-acting, of itself,” made up of two parts, auto–, “self,” and –matos, “willing,” is first recorded in English in 1748 with reference to motions of the body, such as the peristaltic action of the intestines: “The Motions are called automatic from their Resemblance to the Motions of Automata, or Machines, whose Principle of Motion is within themselves.” Although the writer had machines in mind, automatic could be used of living things, a use we still have. The association of automatic chiefly with machinery may represent one instance of many in which we have come to see the world in mechanical terms.


au·to·mat·ic
adj.

Happening or existing through the operation of a preexisting arrangement that is triggered by some event; specif Happening or existing through the operation of law (automatic reversal) (an automatic appeal) au·to·mat·i·cal·ly
adv.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun automatic has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: light machine gun
  Synonyms: automatic rifle, machine rifle

Meaning #2: a pistol that will keep firing until the ammunition is gone or the trigger is released
  Synonym: automatic pistol

The adjective automatic has 3 meanings:

Meaning #1: operating with minimal human intervention; independent of external control
  Antonym: manual (meaning #2)

Meaning #2: like the unthinking functioning of a machine
  Synonyms: automatonlike, machinelike, robotlike

Meaning #3: (physiology) without volition or conscious control
  Synonyms: reflex, reflexive

Translations for: Automatic

Nederlands (Dutch)
automatisch, werktuiglijk, instinctmatig, automatisch apparaat (b.v. geweer), automaat (auto)

Français (French)
automatique, instinctif

Deutsch (German)
adj. - automatisch, selbsttätig, mechanisch
n. - Automat, (halb)automatische Feuerwaffe, Automatikgetriebe

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. αυτόματος, αυτενεργός, μηχανικός n. αυτόματο (πολυβόλο), αυτοκίνητο με αυτόματες ταχύτητες

Italiano (Italian)
automatico

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - automático, involuntário (Psicol.)
n. - automático (m) (Téc.), arma (f) de fogo automática

Русский (Russian)
автоматический, пистолет, механический, инстинктивный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - automático, mecánico, instintivo
n. - automático

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - automatisk
n. - automat, bil med automatlåda

中国话 (Simplified Chinese)
adj. - 自动装置的, 自动的, 必然的, 习惯性的, 无意识的, 当然的
n. - 自动机械, 自动变速器, 自动手枪

中國話 (Traditional Chinese)
adj. - 自動裝置的, 自動的, 必然的, 習慣性的, 無意識的, 當然的
n. - 自動機械, 自動變速器, 自動手槍

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 自動機械, 自動小銃, オートマチック車
adj. - 自動の, 無意識の, 習慣的な, 機械的な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) أوتوماتيكي, آلي (الاسم)‏

עברית‬ (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮אוטומטי, נעשה מאליו ללא מחשבה או כוונה, נחוץ ובלתי-נמנע, נעשה באופן תת-הכרתי, פועלת בעצמה, ללא התערבות אדם (מכונה), יורה כל זמן שיש תחמושת והאצבע לוחצת על ההדק (כלי-נשק), פועל על מהלכים המתחלפים מעצמם עם המהירות והתאוצה (רכב)‬
n. - ‮אקדח אוטומטי, מתקן אוטומטי, רכב עם מהלכים המתחלפים‬

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