The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
adj. Mechanically determined.
adj. Philosophy Of or relating to the philosophy of mechanism, especially tending to explain phenomena only by reference to physical or biological causes.
adj. Having the impersonal and automatic characteristics of a machine
adj. Predetermined by, or as if by, a mechanism
adj. Having a physical or biological cause
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
Of or pertaining to mechanism or to mechanists: as, “mechanistic combination,”
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
adj. explained in terms of physical forces
adj. of or relating to the philosophical theory of mechanism
Word Usage
"Pivar says he's been working for years in the Thompson tradition, which he characterizes as a mechanistic approach to evolution, using lab simulations, algorithms and topology."