subconscious

What it means

1. no longer in technical usehuman sciencesOccurring in the part of our mind that we are not normally aware of.

   The sense of smell can be a subconscious influence on our actions.

   1 more example

   The “name-letter effect” refers to the subconscious bias that people have for the letters in their own name, and for their own initials in particular. They are more likely to choose careers, partners and brands that start with their initials (Joe becomes a joiner, marries Judy and loves Jaffa cakes).

   2022 March 19, Bartleby [pseudonym], “Why loafing can be work”, in Economist, archived from the original on 17 Mar 2022

In a sentence

The sense of smell can be a subconscious influence on our actions.

Where it comes from

From sub- + conscious.