mechanistic

adjective

mech·​a·​nis·​tic ˌme-kə-ˈni-stik How to pronounce mechanistic (audio)
1
: mechanically determined
2
: of or relating to a mechanism or the doctrine of mechanism
3
mechanistically adverb

Examples of mechanistic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But not everyone is waiting for these kinds of mechanistic insights, let alone definitive clinical data, before jumping on the 40-Hz bandwagon. IEEE Spectrum, 28 Feb. 2024 Aside from the mechanistic difficulties associated with upper limb loss, there are also thermal difficulties. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 But evolutionary explanations don’t get at the deeper problem: How, in a nitty-gritty mechanistic sense, do these patterns develop in individual animals? Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2024 By the early fifties, composers such as Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and John Cage had adopted a severe, mechanistic approach to musical composition, much of it governed by coolly rational systems and procedures. John Adams, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023 Rapamycin inhibits a protein called mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). Karina Zaiets, USA TODAY, 28 Aug. 2023 Some of the change in Didion’s writing was mechanistic. Evelyn McDonnell, The New Republic, 3 Oct. 2023 Heggie’s music rushes between evocations of the cold, mechanistic bureaucracy of capital punishment and the internal anxiety and turmoil of its protagonists. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2023 The current research directed at finding mechanistic clues to long Covid is a resource-intensive and lengthy uncharted process. Steven Phillips, STAT, 14 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mechanistic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of mechanistic was in 1884

Dictionary Entries Near mechanistic

Cite this Entry

“Mechanistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mechanistic. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on mechanistic

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!