mechanistic

adjective

mech·​a·​nis·​tic ˌme-kə-ˈni-stik 

1

: mechanically determined

2

: of or relating to a mechanism or the doctrine of mechanism

3

: mechanical

mechanistically

ˌme-kə-ˈni-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of mechanistic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The new study confirms the suspicion at a mechanistic level, presenting new ideas for how to tackle livestock’s methane emissions from the inside out. — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 27 July 2026

The rise of large language models (LLMs) offers a path forward, because LLMs aren’t mechanistic. — Chris Burchett, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

And then there is a separate anger, because this mechanistic objectivity is not applied evenly. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 14 July 2026

If wanting to ascribe feelings to the nonhuman world is an anthropocentric crime, the opposite—failure to ascribe feelings to animals, or to respond creatively to plants—seems much worse, entailing an inert, clockwork universe of mechanistic automata, in which humans are the only conscious actors. — Jenny Odell, Longreads, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for mechanistic

• agonistic
• altruistic
• animistic
• aphoristic
• atheistic
• atomistic
• cabalistic
• calvinistic
• chauvinistic
• dualistic
• egoistic
• egotistic