automatism
Americannoun
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the action or condition of being automatic; mechanical or involuntary action.
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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.
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Physiology. the involuntary functioning of an organic process, especially muscular, without apparent neural stimulation.
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Psychology.
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the performance of an act or actions without the performer's awareness or conscious volition.
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such an act, as sleepwalking.
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a method of producing pictorial art, as paintings and collages, associated chiefly with the dadaists and surrealists, in which the artist strives to allow the impulses of the unconscious to guide the hand in matters of line, color, and structure without the interference of conscious choice.
noun
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the state or quality of being automatic; mechanical or involuntary action
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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
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psychol the performance of actions, such as sleepwalking, without conscious knowledge or control
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the suspension of consciousness sought or achieved by certain artists and writers to allow free flow of uncensored thoughts
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of automatism
First recorded in 1880–85, automatism is from the Greek word automatismós a happening of itself. See automaton, -ism
Vocabulary lists containing automatism
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Something begins to take charge of me, an intelligent automatism," Francis Huxley wrote later.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2025
"Extreme intoxication" is a state akin to automatism in which a person is not acting voluntarily and its use as a defence requires the introduction of expert evidence.
From Reuters ● Jun. 17, 2022
Other analysts countered that the defense would be successful in only a minuscule number of cases and that there is a difference between extreme intoxication and extreme intoxication akin to automatism.
From Washington Post ● May 13, 2022
Mullican was a member of the Dynaton group, an influential trio of artists from the ’50s interested in surrealism, automatism and mysticism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2018
Again, the care for their eggs shown by many animals who give no care to their young may be cited as evidence in favor of the theory of automatism.
From A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution by C. M. Williams
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
