Definition of "preconscious" [pre•con•scious]

• The memories or feelings that are not part of one's immediate awareness but that can be recalled through conscious effort. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "We do know that the formation of conscience and the formation of various types of behavior come in what we call a preconscious level."
• "He predictably avoids the language of the subconscious; but his 'preconscious' in fact works in much the same way."
• "For me, intuition is a preconscious or perhaps subconscious knowing."