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

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

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Etymology

Origin of unconscious

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

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Explanation

When you're unconscious you're passed out or asleep. Anything going on in the body that we're not aware of can also be called unconscious. Being unconscious can be very nice, especially when you're in the middle of a deep sleep. But if you're unconscious because you fainted or got hit in the head, that's not so good. Unconscious people aren't aware of what's going on, and they can't talk or do things — except maybe for sleepwalking and sleeptalking. There are also unconscious thoughts and desires: things going on in the mind that you don't know about.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unconscious

Even though the patients were unconscious, their brains appeared to anticipate how the language unfolding around them might continue.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

"Up until yesterday our client was unconscious, and unable to communicate," he told Judge Chancellor I'Ashea Myles.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

She survived the injections, however, and was rushed to hospital, where she had been unconscious and on a ventilator in critical condition.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

On Saturday, at Carson’s Anderson Memorial Park, Shari Sanders of Altadena was found unconscious in the VIP section of the city’s annual jazz festival.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

With a final yank, I scrambled from under the unconscious camel and limped on my battered knee toward the outcrop.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

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Related Words

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

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