conscience clause

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noun

a clause or article in an act or law that exempts persons whose conscientious or religious scruples forbid their compliance.

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Origin of conscience clause

First recorded in 1865–70

Words nearby conscience clause

cons., consanguineous, consanguinity, consarned, conscience, conscience clause, conscience money, conscience-stricken, conscientious, conscientious objection, conscientious objector

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use conscience clause in a sentence

Instead, straighten your civic backbone and push back in clear conscience.
Why We Stand With Charlie Hebdo—And You Should Too|John Avlon|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Better to be a beggar in freedom,” he cried out, “than to be forced into compromises against my conscience.
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler|John Henry Crosby|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Oskar Schindler—these names come readily to mind when we think of heroes of conscience.
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler|John Henry Crosby|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They would not, for example, supersede federal law regarding the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment.
A Field General in the War on Christmas|David Freedlander|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

As you put it, “letting some business owners exercise their conscience would cause no harm to gays.”
Do LGBTs Owe Christians an Olive Branch? Try The Other Way Around|Jay Michaelson|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She reached forward to it in ecstasy; but she might not enjoy it, save at the price which her conscience exacted.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
In this way it will be managed with less offense and with more ease to the conscience than now.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
My conscience importuned me to tell her bluntly that they would only come into Walsh feet first.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
That he might lose his head and 'introduce an element of sex' was conscience confessing that it had been already introduced.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
He added that lessening clause, remembering, quite simply, how much more brilliant he was than Nigel.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for conscience clause

conscience clause

noun

a clause in a law or contract exempting persons with moral scruples

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012