automaticity

American  

[aw-tuh-muh-tis-i-tee] / ˌɔ tə məˈtɪs ɪ ti /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of automaticity

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

Explanation

If you've ever heard the term "practice makes perfect," it’s a most fitting description of automaticity, which means being able to do something effortlessly because you've practiced it so much. Think of automaticity as your brain flipping on the "easy mode" for tasks you’ve practiced repeatedly. It comes from the word automatic, which refers to actions performed effortlessly and without conscious thought. An example of automaticity is mastering a new skill, like riding a bike. At first, bike riding might require a lot of brain power and effort to accomplish, but after a a bit of practice, it becomes so easy that you don’t have to think about it at all.

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.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 5, 2022

“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.”

From New York Times • Nov. 28, 2021

In BuzzFeed, Katherine Miller correctly observed a certain automaticity infecting our discussions of this incident.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2019

Others do not understand, and openly revel in the automaticity of the cloud.

From The Guardian • Feb. 26, 2019

Which particular one will be "appropriate" will depend on all sorts of subtle factors, hence the need of the control of the connection aeries by a purpose and the diminishing of the element of automaticity.

From How to Teach by Strayer, George Drayton