adjective existing or operating in the mind beneath or beyond consciousness: the subconscious self. Compare preconscious , unconscious . imperfectly or not wholly conscious : subconscious motivations. noun the totality of mental processes of which the individual is not aware; unreportable mental activities.
Origin of subconscious First recorded in
1825–35; sub- +
conscious Related forms sub·con·scious·ly , adverb sub·con·scious·ness , noun non·sub·con·scious , adjective non·sub·con·scious·ly , adverb non·sub·con·scious·ness , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for subconscious psyche ,
unconscious ,
essence ,
mind ,
soul ,
subconsciousness ,
hidden ,
inmost ,
inner ,
intuitive ,
latent ,
mental ,
repressed ,
subliminal ,
suppressed Examples from the Web for subconscious Contemporary Examples of subconscious 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.
“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 of subconscious For most of us the fear of death is a subconscious rather than an active fear.
This may be called the intuitive or subconscious judgment of woman.
Helen in those days was over-interested in the subconscious self.
This routine had been drilled into them, branded into their subconscious .
And now she knew in a subconscious sort of way why he had earlier withdrawn.
British Dictionary definitions for subconscious adjective acting or existing without one's awareness subconscious motive
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noun 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 attention Compare preconscious (def. 2) , unconscious (def. 5) Show More
Derived Forms subconsciously , adverb subconsciousness , noun Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for subconscious adj. 1823, "not wholly conscious" (implied in subconsciously ), from sub- + conscious . First attested in De Quincey. The noun, in the psychological sense, is attested from 1886; earlier subconsciousness (1874).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
subconscious [sŭb-kŏn′ shəs]
adj. Not wholly conscious; partially or imperfectly conscious.
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n. The part of the mind below the level of conscious perception.
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Related forms sub•con′ scious•ly adv. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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