Origin: Greek prefix auto-
Automatically has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
In an automatic manner.
"She automatically adjusted her posture when she walked into the room, as if it were a reflex."
In plain English: Something happens automatically when it occurs without you having to do anything to make it happen.
"The door opened automatically when he approached it."
Usage: Use automatically to describe actions that happen without conscious thought or human intervention, often implying they occur instantly. It correctly modifies verbs to show that something proceeds on its own rather than by deliberate choice.
The word automatically comes from combining the adjective automatic with the suffix -ally to form an adverb. It entered English directly from Latin through French without a significant shift in its core meaning of occurring on its own.