subconsciously
Americanadverb
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beneath or beyond the conscious mind.
Your brain subconsciously processes a lot of the day’s information while you sleep.
-
without conscious understanding or desire.
I grew up subconsciously internalizing the stereotypes I saw in movies, TV shows, and advertisements.
I heard footsteps approaching behind me, and my pace quickened subconsciously.
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Origin of subconsciously
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Subconsciously, I didn't want to have natto just dripping from my beard," he said, laughing.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
Subconsciously hearkening back to his childhood sleep experiences, he adds, “I wanted this story to feel like a nightmare that just keeps getting worse and worse and worse and worse.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
"We talk about next-moment-focused at all times and that certainly shouldn't happen. We certainly need to address it. Subconsciously, I guess that tends to happen, not that it should."
From BBC • Jul. 19, 2025
Subconsciously, you keep an eye on your dog.
From New York Times • Aug. 8, 2022
Subconsciously you feel that you must attempt to explain away your failure, as an intellectual and soldier of ideas, to actively participate in critical social movements.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
