What does subconsciously mean?
Subconsciously means in a way that occurs outside a person's conscious awareness. It commonly describes influences, responses, motivations, and choices that arise without the person being able to identify their source or explain them directly. For example, a viewer may react subconsciously to a color, sound, or familiar image, while a consumer may be influenced by an advertisement without realizing it. The word is especially useful when discussing automatic psychological processes, but it is often applied loosely to anything done without deliberation. In such cases, unconsciously may be more precise, because an unintended action is not necessarily connected to subconscious processing. The term can also have a historical association with theories of the unconscious, although in modern usage it generally refers more broadly to mental activity that is not consciously accessible.
adverbIn a manner that occurs outside conscious awareness, often as part of automatic mental or emotional processing.
- Without conscious awareness; in a manner that occurs as part of automatic mental or emotional processing.
"Her preference for the blue mug may have been influenced by memories she had registered subconsciously."
"The unfamiliar scent triggered a subconscious feeling of safety."
"People may subconsciously adjust their answers when they think the examiner is watching."
Sometimes an idea reaches the tongue before the mind can explain why.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does subconsciously come from?
The adverb was formed by adding the suffix -ly to subconscious, which combines the Latin prefix sub-, meaning under, with conscious, from Latin conscientia, meaning knowledge or awareness. The broader language of psychology developed several words from the same Latin root, including conscious, conscience, conscient, and science. In the modern spelling, subconsciously was developed during the period when psychology was making subconscious mental processes a subject of systematic study.
Related word forms
How subconsciously is actually used
This adverb is common in psychology, neuroscience, and general discussion of motivation, memory, preference, and behavior. It should not be used simply as a synonym for unconsciously when an action is merely accidental or unintentional.