automaton
- a mechanical figure or contrivance constructed to act as if by its own motive power; robot.
- a person or animal that acts in a monotonous, routine manner, without active intelligence.
- something capable of acting automatically or without an external motive force.
Origin of automaton
Related Words for automaton
engine, apparatus, automobile, tool, appliance, instrument, motor, vehicle, gadget, contraption, widget, robot, mechanism, computer, contrivance, implement, thingamabob, automaton, laborer, cloneExamples from the Web for automaton
Contemporary Examples of automaton
“It was no brute whom Smiley was pursuing with such mastery, no unqualified fanatic after all, no automaton,” le Carré writes.
Iran’s Top Spy Is the Modern-Day Karla, John Le Carré’s Villainous MastermindMichael Weiss
July 2, 2014
Despite how he might come across in the history books, he wasn't some bland, rule-following "high-integrity" automaton.
But it did suggest that Rubio was more than a Reaganite automaton.
Historical Examples of automaton
As to the automaton, Mrs. Beaufort, Robert made sure of her discretion.
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
Like an automaton he turned again and paced to the hall door.
The Street That Wasn't ThereClifford Donald Simak
I was an automaton turning a crank in the frozen stillness of the long, long night.
The Trail of '98Robert W. Service
You take orders like an automaton, and you go execute them like an automaton.
The Long RollMary Johnston
Like an automaton the man stepped forward, and after him paced the white horse.
Riders of the SilencesJohn Frederick
automaton
- a mechanical device operating under its own hidden power; robot
- a person who acts mechanically or leads a routine monotonous life