mechanically
adverb
Simple meaning
Mindlessly, thoughtlessly, automatically, without thinking.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
muhkanihkleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
məˈkænɪkli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
In a mechanical manner, mindlessly, thoughtlessly, automatically, without thinking.
From a mechanical point of view.
In a machinelike manner; without feeling
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
Used this way, mechanically is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is an engineering use: it is a working term used for accuracy on the job.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Science
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use mechanically
- “This door opens mechanically.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Using (or as if using) mechanisms or tools or devices.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
The atomic process that occurs during a chemical reaction.
A craftsman skilled in operating machine tools.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Relating to or concerned with machinery or tools.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A mechanically operated piano that uses a roll of perforated paper to activate the keys.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.