collective unconscious

noun

|Updated on: 26 Jun 2018

Definition of collective unconscious

: the inherited part of the unconscious that especially in the psychoanalytic theory of C. G. Jung occurs in and is shared by all the members of a people or race

Recent Examples of collective unconscious from the Web

If, for decades now, true crime served as the collective unconscious of so many women, all the taboo topics the culture as a whole represses, what happens when the culture is unable to repress them any longer?

— megan abbott, latimes.com, "Why do we — women in particular — love true crime books?," 14 June 2018
Out of these diverse histories, shared motifs emerge, like recurring dreams in a collective unconscious.

— The Economist, "Ghosts of the road, spectres at the feast," 28 Mar. 2018
And although there's every reason to think that this latest tragedy will recede into our collective unconscious like the seemingly countless others that have preceded it, something feels different this time.

— frank scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, "Critic’s Notebook: CNN’s Town Hall on Guns Proves that Young People — Not Politicians — Are Our Only Hope," 22 Feb. 2018
The fashion audience has never been more sophisticated, and designers are having a blast mixing and mashing ideas — and mining our collective unconscious.

— rebecca ramsey, The Cut, "Let’s Decode the Runway," 7 Feb. 2018
These visionary fish have unparalleled access to the collective unconscious through their clairvoyance and make incredible artists and creatives.

— aliza kelly faragher, Allure, "The Personality of a Pisces, Explained," 2 Feb. 2018
But if the collective unconscious is drawing from different points of reference, things can get awkward.

— brandon r. reynolds, Los Angeles Magazine, "There’s a Sudden Burst of Color in L.A.’s Improv Scene," 19 Jan. 2018
That cry echoes down 2,500 years of history, out of the collective unconscious.

— jeff macgregor, Smithsonian, "The Healing Power of Greek Tragedy," 26 Oct. 2017
Sometimes a dress worms its way into the fashion world’s collective unconscious.

— diana tsui, The Cut, "This Is the Most Popular Dress at New York Fashion Week," 12 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'collective unconscious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of collective unconscious

1917

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Medical Dictionary

collective unconscious

noun col·lec·tive unconscious \ kə-ˈlek-tiv- \

medical Definition of collective unconscious

: the genetically determined part of the unconscious that especially in the psychoanalytic theory of C. G. Jung occurs in all the members of a people or race