mechanically

comparative more mechanically · superlative most mechanically

1. From a mechanical point of view.

   mechanically speaking

2. In a mechanical manner, mindlessly, thoughtlessly, automatically, without thinking.

   He commenced to say his prayers mechanically.

   1952 September 1, Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 65

   3 more examples

   My fears, however, made me mechanically close my thighs; but the very touch of his hand insinuated between them, disclosed them and opened a way for the main attack.

   Fanny Hill

   1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC

   "Of what avail," and her eyes wandered mechanically round, "is all the luxury by which I am surrounded, if it serve only as a barrier to all kindly feelings?"

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 183–184

   Provided they stick to their legal priors, rather than voting mechanically as Republican appointees, the justices seem likely to split on some of these cases — with real consequences for Trump’s agenda.

   2025 February 26, Aziz Huq, “Conservatives on the Supreme Court May Not Fully Align With Trump”, in Politico