ENGLISH
REFERENCE

mechanical

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //məˈkænɪkəɫ// UK //mɪkˈænɪkəl// me·chan·i·cal Archaic General-service Informal

adj. related to machines or how they work. You use this to describe things with moving parts or actions done without thinking, like a habit.

adj. relating to, produced by, or dominated by physical forces or machinery. When describing human behavior, it implies a lack of spontaneity or thought, as if following a programmed sequence.


SIMPLE

The car has a mechanical problem that needs fixing.

CONTEXTUAL

The engineer spent the afternoon repairing the mechanical parts of the factory's conveyor belt.

COMPLEX

Her response was entirely mechanical, suggesting she had rehearsed the apology so many times that it no longer carried any genuine emotional weight.

Antonyms
Origin

From Middle English mechanical, mechanicalle, mechanycalle, equivalent to mechanic + -al.

Usage

Typically precedes the noun it modifies; when used in a technical context, it contrasts with 'electronic' or 'manual'.

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