collective unconscious

American  

noun

1. (in Jungian psychology) inborn unconscious psychic material common to humankind, accumulated by the experience of all preceding generations.

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collective unconscious British  

noun

1. psychol (in Jungian psychological theory) a part of the unconscious mind incorporating patterns of memories, instincts, and experiences common to all mankind. These patterns are inherited, may be arranged into archetypes, and are observable through their effects on dreams, behaviour, etc

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collective unconscious Cultural  

1. Memories of mental patterns that are shared by members of a single culture or, more broadly, by all human beings; originally proposed by the psychologist Carl Jung to explain psychological traits shared by all people. He theorized that the collective unconscious appears as archetypes: patterns and symbols (see also symbol) that occur in dreams, mythology, and fairy tales.

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Etymology

Origin of collective unconscious

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

“There is a sort of collective unconscious understanding amongst anyone who’s been a young actress — you get it,” says Deutch.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2025

It also boasts the hook of reviving proven IP, and though it’s not exactly “Star Trek,” the original ran for nine years and is rerunning still; it has a seat in the collective unconscious.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2024

All of these elements together make his albums feel like warped, scratchy transmissions from a sonic collective unconscious.

From New York Times • Sep. 9, 2022

Therefore, based on the theories of collective unconscious and shared information bias, we propose that scientists seeking to sway people’s minds around climate change try the following:

From Scientific American • Jun. 27, 2022

They may be as essential for society as mythology itself, as loaded with symbols, and as necessary for the architecture of our collective unconscious.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas