subliminal

UK: /səbˈlɪmɪn^əl/ US: /sʌbˈlɪmənəl/ ,(sub lim′ə nl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

sub•lim•i•nal /sʌbˈlɪmənəl/   adj. 

1. Psychology existing or operating below the level at which one is conscious:
   They made use of subliminal advertising, in which the words "You're thirsty'' appeared on the screen too fast to be read consciously.

See -lim-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

sub•lim•i•nal  (sub lim′ə nl), adj. [Psychol.]

1. Psychology existing or operating below the threshold of consciousness;
   being or employing stimuli insufficiently intense to produce a discrete sensation but often being or designed to be intense enough to influence the mental processes or the behavior of the individual:
   a subliminal stimulus; subliminal advertising.

• sub- + Latin līmin- (stem of līmen) threshold + -al¹ 1885–90

sub•lim′i•nal•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

subliminal / sʌbˈlɪmɪn^əl/ adjective

1. resulting from processes of which the individual is not aware
2. (of stimuli) less than the minimum intensity or duration required to elicit a response

Etymology: 19th Century: from Latin sub- below + līmen threshold

subˈliminally adverb