unconsciously

[ uhn-kon-shuhs-lee ]

adverb

1. unintentionally and without realizing what one is doing:

   Unconsciously, almost in spite of herself, she sighed.

2. at a level below that of conscious thought:

   Children are unconsciously influenced by the appearance and personalities of their parents to choose partners who resemble them.

3. without any awareness, sensation, or cognition at all:

   As her mind drifted into a cloud of darkness and she lost all feeling, her body unconsciously fought the force of gravity pushing against it.

Other Words From

• qua·si-un·con·scious·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of unconsciously¹

unconscious ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

At SDPD, one officer who knocked his wife unconscious remains on the force and was even allowed to continue responding to domestic violence calls.

From Voice of San Diego

For Jung’s studies of the impact of the collective unconscious on the psyche, including the roles of dreams and fantasies, he sought out subjects with vivid recall.

From Nautilus

She spent another three weeks in the intensive care unit, mostly unconscious, where she suffered a stroke.

From Washington Post

Officers arrived to find the man unconscious and not breathing.

From Washington Post

Police said they responded to a report of an unconscious man.

From Washington Post

By the time she finished belting her way to God, I had unconsciously wandered from my office desk to a church pew.

From The Daily Beast

I think I absorbed a great deal about story structure during that period, albeit unconsciously.

From The Daily Beast

I am indebted to them all, and hope to continue to steal from them, unconsciously or otherwise.

From The Daily Beast

Black boys in hoodies are aesthetically and unconsciously calling for violent action.

From The Daily Beast

Those who think you think you do will, if unconsciously, seek to thwart your progress.

From The Daily Beast

The Swiss are freemen, and wear the fact unconsciously but palpably on their brows and beaming from their eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

And these steadfast qualities Tom absorbed unconsciously through his very skin.

From Project Gutenberg

He braced himself unconsciously, and after Zeal's next words did not relax his body, although his lips turned white and stiff.

From Project Gutenberg

At that instant, when Frank was unconsciously offering a bad target, the moulvie fired.

From Project Gutenberg

The heavy man unconsciously shook him in his powerful grasp, as a child might shake a doll.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• unintentionally
• unknowingly
• unwittingly