unconscious

American  

[uhn-kon-shuhs] / ʌnˈkɒn ʃəs /

adjective

1. not conscious; without awareness, sensation, or cognition.

2. temporarily devoid of consciousness.

3. not perceived at the level of awareness; occurring below the level of conscious thought.

   an unconscious impulse.

4. not consciously realized, planned, or done; without conscious volition or intent.

   an unconscious social slight.

5. not endowed with mental faculties.

   the unconscious stones.

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noun

1. Psychoanalysis. the unconscious, the part of the mind containing psychic material that is only rarely accessible to awareness but that has a pronounced influence on behavior.

unconscious British  

/ ʌnˈkɒnʃəs /

adjective

1. lacking normal sensory awareness of the environment; insensible

2. not aware of one's actions, behaviour, etc

   unconscious of his bad manners

3. characterized by lack of awareness or intention

   an unconscious blunder

4. coming from or produced by the unconscious

   unconscious resentment

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noun

1. psychoanal the part of the mind containing instincts, impulses, images, and ideas that are not available for direct examination See also collective unconscious Compare subconscious preconscious

unconscious Cultural  

1. The part of the psyche lying far below consciousness and not easily raised into consciousness. In Freudian psychology, the unconscious cannot be directly observed with the conscious mind, but it has its own processes and deeply affects conscious thought.

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Other Word Forms

• quasi-unconscious adjective
• self-unconscious adjective
• unconsciously adverb
• unconsciousness noun

Etymology

Origin of unconscious

First recorded in 1705–15; 1915–20 unconscious for def. 6; un- ¹ + conscious

Example Sentences

The researchers interpreted the gap between the two estimates, a difference of 212.3 decisions, as evidence that most food decisions are unconscious or "mindless."

From Science Daily

Even some of those injured and in hospitals haven't been named yet - they remain unconscious and unrecognisable.

From BBC

"It was really difficult. We tried to pull people out who were conscious, people who were unconscious, and get them to a warm place."

From Barron's

However, his groundbreaking TV series Twin Peaks remained for many his greatest work - portraying an idyllic American small town encroached by a chaotic unconscious world.

From BBC

Rescue workers spent 40 minutes dismantling part of the travelator to free the boy, who by then had fallen unconscious.

From BBC

Related Words

• innate
• instinctive
• latent
• lost
• repressed
• subliminal
• suppressed