automaticity

[aw-tuh-muh-tis-i-tee]

noun

1. the quality or fact of being performed involuntarily or unconsciously, as a reflex, innate process, or ingrained habit.

   This online math program helps students achieve automaticity in the basic facts of addition and subtraction.

2. the fact or quality of starting or operating independently.

   In this historical drama, everything happens with the automaticity of clockwork, as if the ending has already been written.

Word History and Origins

Origin of automaticity¹

automatic ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

“It’s not developing students’ automaticity and fluency with recognizing and decoding words, which is really a huge hindrance in the ultimate goal of reading, which is reading comprehension.”

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Mr Johnson also warned Moscow there would be an "automaticity" about any economic sanctions that would be levelled against Russia if it invaded Ukraine.

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“What’s worrying me is the automaticity of the actions — of more nuclear weapons and more missile defenses without thinking if there’s a smarter way.”

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But there are situations where we should let automaticity take over.

Read more on Scientific American

McLaughlin explains that the infinite scroll design also exploits the psychological phenomenon known as automaticity.

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