preconscious

[ pree-kon-shuhs ]

adjective

1. Psychoanalysis. absent from but capable of being readily brought into consciousness.
2. occurring prior to the development of consciousness.

noun

1. the preconscious portion of the mind; foreconscious.

preconscious

/ priːˈkɒnʃəs /

adjective

1. psychol prior to the development of consciousness

noun

1. psychoanal mental contents or activity not immediately in consciousness but readily brought there

Derived Forms

• preˈconsciousness, noun
• preˈconsciously, adverb

Other Words From

• pre·conscious·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of preconscious¹

First recorded in 1855–60; pre- + conscious

Example Sentences

The study's author, anthropologist Michael Winkelman of Arizona State, concluded that drumming "produces pleasurable experiences, enhanced awareness of preconscious dynamics, release of emotional trauma, and reintegration of self."

From Salon

It’s not my favorite of his books, perhaps because he’s working to conjure his father’s voice, rather than taking dictation from his preconscious as in the other, subtler books.

From Washington Post

In play, we express in metaphors and symbols what the unconscious or preconscious knows and wants us to see at a conscious level.

From Washington Post

Approaching eighty, Howe, in “Love and I,”is now revisiting the earliest formative impressions of preconscious childhood, when “everything seemed like something else.”

From The New Yorker

It reflects the largely preconscious valuations, priorities and internalised beliefs of the people who devised Google Home.

From The Guardian