automatism
Use Automatism in a sentence
əˌtɪz noun
1.
the action or condition of being automatic; mechanical or involuntary action.
2.
Philosophy. the doctrine that all activities of animals, or of humans and animals, are entirely controlled by physical or physiological causes in which consciousness takes no part.
3.
Physiology. the involuntary functioning of an organic process, especially muscular, without apparent neural stimulation.
4.
Psychology.
a.
the performance of an act or actions without the performer's awareness or conscious volition.
b.
such an act, as sleepwalking.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To automatism
00:10
Automatism
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
automatism (ɔːˈtɒməˌtɪzəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the state or quality of being automatic; mechanical or involuntary action |
| 2. | law, philosophy the explanation of an action, or of action in general, as determined by the physiological states of the individual, admissible in law as a defence when the physiological state is involuntary, as in sleepwalking |
| 3. | psychol the performance of actions, such as sleepwalking, without conscious knowledge or control |
| 4. | the suspension of consciousness sought or achieved by certain artists and writers to allow free flow of uncensored thoughts |
| au'tomatist | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
automatism au·tom·a·tism (ô-tŏm'ə-tĭz'əm)
n.
The involuntary functioning of an organ or other body structure that is not under conscious control, such as the beating of the heart or the dilation of the pupil of the eye.
The reflexive action of a body part.
An act performed without intent or conscious exercise of the will, often without realization of its occurrence, as for certain types of epilepsy.
A condition in which one is consciously or unconsciously, but involuntarily, compelled to the performance of certain acts. Also called telergy.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
In other words, for all its talk about automatism, surrealism produced an aggressively purposeful art.
Beyond propositional speech and making sentences, there seems to be language embedded in song and in automatism of various sorts.
Before trial, the defendant raised evidence of his automatism under the insanity statute.
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