Word.ws English Dictionary

underthreshold

underthreshold adjective: positioned below a threshold.

Adjective

underthreshold (comparative more underthreshold, superlative most underthreshold)

  1. Positioned below a threshold.
  2. Being below the threshold or outside of the ordinary limits of consciousness; subconscious; subliminal.
    • The notion "underthreshold" is to be explained as all that which is under the ordinary threshold or outside the customary bounds of consciousness; [...]1913, Edward Ebenezer Weaver, Mind and health
    • Accordingly, it represents an underthreshold load in trained persons, and no endocrine response was observed.1986, Hormonal ensemble in exercise

Forms of underthreshold

comparativemore underthreshold
superlativemost underthreshold

Origin of underthreshold

From under- + threshold, probably a calque of German unterschwellig (“subliminal”, literally “under-threshold”), from unter- (“under-”) + Schwelle (“threshold”). More at under, sill.

Questions about underthreshold

What does underthreshold mean?
Underthreshold means positioned below a threshold.
What part of speech is underthreshold?
Underthreshold is an adjective.

Words near underthreshold in the dictionary

  1. underthinker
  2. underthinkers
  3. underthinking
  4. underthinks
  5. underthought
  6. underthreshold
  7. underthrew
  8. underthrow
  9. underthrowing
  10. underthrown
  11. underthrows

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: underthreshold (page history and authors). 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.

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