cybernetic

American  

[sahy-ber-net-ik] / ˌsaɪ bərˈnɛt ɪk /

Rarely cybernetical

adjective

1. of or relating to cybernetics, the study of automatic control and communication functions in both living organisms and mechanical and electronic systems.

   The self-regulating engineering devices of the mid-20th century inspired the cybernetic image of the brain as a computer.

2. relating to or being a mechanical or electronic device implanted into or attached to a living organism to enhance or aid physiological functioning.

   In the sci-fi movie, the hero’s nemesis acquires a six-legged spider-like cybernetic apparatus to replace his lost lower body.

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Other Word Forms

• cybernetically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of cybernetic

First recorded in 1945–50; back formation from cybernetics ( def. )

Example Sentences

One of the curators of the Barbican show is Dr Suzanne Livingston, co-founder of the influential Cybernetic Culture Research Unit.

From The Guardian • May 14, 2019

Way curates his own imprint for DC, Young Animal, for which he writes two titles: Doom Patrol and the fabulously named Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye.

From The Guardian • Oct. 5, 2017

Cybersyn has been admirably covered, in detail, by Eden Medina’s Cybernetic Revolutionaries.

From The Guardian • Sep. 11, 2016

Indeed, so widely has the computer's brain been applied to esthetic pursuits that London's Institute of Contemporary Art has mounted an entire exhibit devoted to "Cybernetic Serendipity."

From Time Magazine Archive

I look at my favorite paintings again—The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso, the Cybernetic Lobster Telephone by Salvador Dalí, and the one made of dots by Georges Seurat.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez