subconscious
[suhb-kon-shuh s]
- existing or operating in the mind beneath or beyond consciousness: the subconscious self.Compare preconscious, unconscious.
- imperfectly or not wholly conscious: subconscious motivations.
- the totality of mental processes of which the individual is not aware; unreportable mental activities.
Origin of subconscious
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for subconscious
Contemporary Examples
Their motives were the usual mix of the honorable, the base, and the subconscious.
The third eye would seem to symbolize a hidden inner knowledge or the subconscious.
I knew that on a subconscious level at the writing stage, because of the way the stories went together.
‘Mad Men’: Matthew Weiner & Christina Hendricks on ‘The Other Woman,’ Part 1Jace Lacob
August 7, 2012
“The effect is probably very subtle,” admits Pincott, but she adds that there are subconscious behavioral factors at work as well.
There is much meaning to be gleaned, too, from your own subconscious motivations, Freudian slip-ups, and dreams.
Historical Examples
For most of us the fear of death is a subconscious rather than an active fear.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
This may be called the intuitive or subconscious judgment of woman.
The Sexual QuestionAugust Forel
Helen in those days was over-interested in the subconscious self.
Howards EndE. M. Forster
This routine had been drilled into them, branded into their subconscious.
The Hour of BattleRobert Sheckley
And now she knew in a subconscious sort of way why he had earlier withdrawn.
Mistress WildingRafael Sabatini
subconscious
- acting or existing without one's awarenesssubconscious motive
- psychoanal that part of the mind which is on the fringe of consciousness and contains material of which it is possible to become aware by redirecting attentionCompare preconscious (def. 2), unconscious (def. 5)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for subconscious
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
subconscious
(sŭb-kŏn′shəs)
- Not wholly conscious; partially or imperfectly conscious.
- The part of the mind below the level of conscious perception.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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