subliminal
Syllables: sub·li·min·al/sʌbˈlɪm.ɪ.nəl//sʌbˈlɪm.ɪ.nəl/
subliminal adjective: of a stimulus, below the limen or threshold of conscious perception, especially if still able to produce a response; also (generally), below the threshold where a response can be produced.
Adjective
subliminal (comparative more subliminal, superlative most subliminal)
- Of a stimulus, below the limen or threshold of conscious perception, especially if still able to produce a response; also (generally), below the threshold where a response can be produced.
- Synonyms:
- latent, underthreshold
- Antonyms:
- liminal, superliminal
- Of an advertisement, a message, etc.: conveyed in a manner that the viewer is unaware of being influenced by it.
- Without directed awareness or thought; subconscious (dated), unconscious.
Noun
subliminal (plural subliminals)
- An advertisement, a message, etc., which is conveyed in a manner that a person is unaware of being influenced by it.
- An audio or video recording, often consisting of ambient music or white noise with hidden affirmations, intended to produce physical or psychological changes in the listener through repetition.
- She spent all night listening to a subliminal to change her eye color.
- Chiefly preceded by the: the subconscious (dated) or unconscious self.
subliminal meaning in Malayalam
subliminal in Malayalam
- subconscious, hidden, concealed
- ബോധാതീതമായ, ഉപബോധാത്മകം, നിഗൂഢമായ, അബോധപൂർവ്വമായ, ഗുപ്തമായ, പ്രത്യക്ഷമല്ലാത്ത
Examples of subliminal in a sentence
- Conscious or subconscious, subliminal or superliminal, they are still “mental processes.”
- Today subliminal messages are sent by “underspeaking" on television, radio, and records and “invisigraph" (invisible messages) on printed ads.
- “I never did either,” I replied, “but it seemed to hit the right combination of subliminal dignity and overt ambiguity.”
Synonyms of subliminal
Antonyms
Forms of subliminal
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more subliminal |
| superlative | most subliminal |
| alternative form (obsolete) | sub-liminal |
| Noun | |
| plural | subliminals |
Origin of subliminal
From sub- (“beneath, under”) + liminal (“of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold”) (from Latin līminālis, from līmen (“doorstep, threshold; doorway, entrance; beginning, commencement”); possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- (“to bend, bow; elbow”)) + *-mn̥ (suffix forming action nouns or result nouns from verbs)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns)). The noun is derived from the adjective. The English word is a borrowing from German subliminal or a calque of German unterschwellig (“subliminal”, literally “beneath the threshold”).
Words formed from subliminal
Phrases with subliminal
Questions about subliminal
- What does subliminal mean?
- Subliminal means of a stimulus, below the limen or threshold of conscious perception, especially if still able to produce a response; also (generally), below the threshold where a response can be produced.
- What is subliminal in Malayalam?
- Subliminal in Malayalam is ബോധാതീതമായ, ഉപബോധാത്മകം, നിഗൂഢമായ. See Subliminal meaning in Malayalam.
- What part of speech is subliminal?
- Subliminal can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce subliminal?
- Subliminal is pronounced /sʌbˈlɪm.ɪ.nəl/ (UK).
Words near subliminal in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: subliminal (page history and authors); subliminal (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-subliminal.wav, En-us-subliminal.ogg.
Cite this entry: “subliminal.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/subliminal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.