unconsciousness
Britishnoun
Explanation
Unconsciousness is a state of being unaware of what's going on around you, either because you're not awake or because you're simply oblivious. If you fall asleep during a movie, and your unconsciousness means you'll miss the ending. Even if everyone in your family is mad at each other, your little cousin's unconsciousness of the argument might make it easier to have a peaceful Thanksgiving. And after the meal, the great quantities of food eaten may result in the unconsciousness of half the guests, who doze in the living room, snoring softly. In both kinds of unconsciousness, someone isn't conscious, or aware, of their surroundings.
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.
According to a peer-reviewed study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention, Waymo recorded 85 percent fewer crashes likely to cause serious injuries—like broken bones, unconsciousness, or skull fractures—compared to human drivers.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2025
According to the prosecutor's office, medical reports also suggested Payne may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024
“Are you happy with your life,” Jason 2 asks Jason 1 as he sends him into unconsciousness, “or have you ever wondered what else you could have been?”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2024
In other words, rather than a system that automatically maintains the drug dose, the new system automatically maintains the desired level of unconsciousness by updating that dose every 20 seconds.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2023
I slid softly back into unconsciousness as soon as 1 no longer had the story to hold my attention.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
