Psychology. a group-therapy technique in which the aim is to enhance the participants' awareness of their particular needs and goals as individuals or as a group.
any method for increasing interpersonal awareness or sensitivity by teaching people to experience a situation or point of view radically different from their own.
The women's group has tried to change macho attitudes through consciousness-raising.
an act or instance of increasing the awareness of one's own or another's needs, behavior, attitudes, or problems.
An Americanism dating back to 1970–75
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They could almost be gathering for consciousness-raising and general complaining about the state of the world.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
It felt the way I imagine those famous ’70s consciousness-raising sessions must have felt: like simultaneous creation and discovery.
From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026
“No other community on the face of the globe has given rise to half as many mystic, philosophical, psychological, occult, consciousness-raising, therapeutic and alternative creeds as 20th century L.A.,”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025
It’s like a twisted blend of “The Voice,” “The Crown,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” — and a women’s consciousness-raising group.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 13, 2023
“Gloria” doubles as a consciousness-raising session, especially in the last 15 minutes, in which audience members are invited to share aloud their responses to the show.
From Washington Post • Mar. 16, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
