Meaning & use
bionic
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Using electronic or mechanical parts that replace or boost a body part, or designed on the model of living systems.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: a bionic arm.
Patterns
- a bionic arm
- a bionic limb
The athlete now runs with a bionic leg fitted last year.
Engineers are testing a bionic hand that responds to nerve signals.
The bionic ear helps people who cannot hear.
adjectivecomparableinformalhumorousfigurative
Humorously, having unusual strength, speed or stamina, as if parts of the body were machine-made.
Grammar: Informal and playful; can follow be: she is practically bionic.
Patterns
- practically bionic
After a week of training, my grandmother felt bionic.
He's practically bionic; he never seems to get tired.
That bionic runner overtook everyone in the last mile.
Common combinations
- bionic arm
- The bionic arm lets her pick up a cup with ease.
- bionic leg
- His bionic leg is made of carbon fiber.
- bionic eye
- A bionic eye can give some blind patients limited sight.
- bionic limb
- The bionic limb moved in response to thought.
- bionic ear
- A bionic ear sends sound signals directly to the nerve.
- bionic man
- The old show about a bionic man was popular in the seventies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- robotic
- Robotic describes machines or movements that look like a robot's, while bionic specifically joins technology to a living body.
- cybernetic
- Cybernetic is more technical and science-fiction in tone, and often refers to control systems.
- prosthetic
- Prosthetic describes any artificial replacement body part, while bionic implies advanced electronics.
- superhuman
- Superhuman describes abilities beyond normal, and it has no connection to machinery.
Opposites
Word family
- bionics noun
- the study of designing machines based on living things
- biomechanical adjective
- relating to the mechanics of living things
- biotechnology noun
- the use of living systems in technology
- bionically adverb
- in a bionic way, rare
Commonly confused: bionic or bionic vs. biotic?
bionic vs bionic vs. biotic
Biotic means relating to living things, while bionic involves artificial parts that work with or copy living systems.
Practice
Which of these would most clearly be called bionic?
Choose one answer.
A bionic device uses electronics linked to the body. A stick, glasses or cast merely support or correct and do not interact with the body's signals.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bionic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.