subconsciousnessn.
/ˌsʌbˈkɒnʃəsnəs/, /səbˈkɒnʃəsnəs/, U.S. /səbˈkɑnʃəsnəs/ 1. With of or subordinate clause. Partial consciousness; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > consciousness > mind below consciousness > [noun] > imperfect consciousness > state of
subconsciousness1806
1806 S. T. Coleridge Notebks. (1962) II. 2915 The vision enriched by subconsciousness of palpability by influent recollections of Touch.
1881 Nation (N.Y.) 32 290 Brady's consciousness or subconsciousness of the shortness and uncertainty of his own tenure.
1897 F. M. Crawford Corleone I. xiii. 189 He drove away the sub-consciousness that the thing was not yet done.
1920 R. Russell What's Matter with Ireland? (2007) iii. 38 Meditative silences during which she seems to retain only a subconsciousness of her surroundings.
2000 A. Karakasidou in V. Roudometof Macedonian Question 79 A lingering consciousness—or perhaps a subconsciousness—of Slav-Macedonian identity continued to persist among much of the local population.
2. The state or condition of being subconscious; subconscious awareness, perception, or response.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > consciousness > subconscious mind > [noun]
subconsciousness1845
submind1856
subconscious1878
subconsciousness1889
the mind > mental capacity > consciousness > mind below consciousness > [noun] > imperfect consciousness
subconsciousness1845
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > dullness of sense perception > [noun] > partial or imperfect consciousness
trancec1405
subconsciousness1845
1845 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 552/2 He sees..them [sc. the objects] engraved in lines far stronger and more determinate: and the difference in the strength makes the whole difference between consciousness and subconsciousness.
1874 G. H. Lewes Probl. Life & Mind 1st Ser. I. 141 Neural processes which formerly were accompanied by Consciousness sink into Sub-Consciousness.
1879 G. H. Lewes Probl. Life & Mind 3rd Ser. I. v. 88 The processes..in certain relative intensities become states of Consciousness; in lesser intensities, states of Subconsciousness.
1926 D. L. Sayers Clouds of Witness vi. 138 All these new-fangled doctors went out of their way to invent subconsciousness and kleptomania, and..other fancy descriptions to explain away when people had done naughty things.
1968 Brain 91 580 He contended that impressions are retained in a state of subject consciousness (subconsciousness) and revived in object consciousness.
2011 E. Krausz Exploring Reality & its Uncertainties iv. 69 Experimental psychology has been researching..individual differences in subconsciousness and in self-consciousness.
3. = subconscious n.Not used as a technical term in Psychology: see note at subconscious n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > consciousness > subconscious mind > [noun]
subconsciousness1845
submind1856
subconscious1878
subconsciousness1889
1889 N. Amer. Rev. July 119 Doubtless there is in the sub-consciousness of the American people an ideal of fiction formed on the essential peculiarities of our national life.
1896 B. Matthews Tales Fantasy & Fact 85 You had that story stored away in your subconsciousness.
1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 17 Sept. 692 He probably projects into the mental life of others what is present in his own subconsciousness.
1981 E. Lander in O. Davies Omni Bk. Paranormal & Mind vi. xxxv. 390 Scientists are attempting to open a direct communication channel with our subconsciousness by skirting the edge of consciousness.
2011 D. Choi Mech. Consciousness during Life, Dream, & After-death ii. vi. 59 The fact that the witness has in mind the car number means that the car number has been stored in his subconsciousness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1806