Automatic \Au`to*mat"ic\, Automatical \Au`to*mat"ic*al\, a. [Cf.
   F. automatique. See Automaton.]
   1. Having an inherent power of action or motion.
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            Nothing can be said to be automatic.  --Sir H. Davy.
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   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.

   Note: 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
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              Unconscious or automatic reasoning. --H. Spenser.
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   4. like the unthinking functioning of a machine. an automatic
      `thank you'

   Syn: automaton-like, automatonlike, machinelike,
        machine-like, robotlike.
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   Automatic arts, such economic arts or manufacture as are
      carried on by self-acting machinery. --Ure.
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