conscientious
Americanadjective
-
governed by conscience; controlled by or done according to one's inner sense of what is right; principled.
She's a conscientious judge, who does not let personal prejudices influence her decisions.
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careful and painstaking; particular; meticulous; scrupulous.
conscientious application to the work at hand.
adjective
-
involving or taking great care; painstaking; diligent
-
governed by or done according to conscience
Related Words
See painstaking.
Other Word Forms
- conscientiously adverb
- conscientiousness noun
- hyperconscientious adjective
- hyperconscientiously adverb
- hyperconscientiousness noun
- overconscientious adjective
- overconscientiously adverb
- unconscientious adjective
- unconscientiously adverb
- unconscientiousness noun
Etymology
Origin of conscientious
First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin conscientiōsus, equivalent to Latin conscienti(a) conscience + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
If someone is conscientious, that person strives to do what's right and to carry out her duties. Conscientious people show care and put in a big effort. Being conscientious has to do with being careful, thoughtful, and decent. A conscientious doctor will do everything possible to help a patient. A conscientious teacher will spend extra time with students, just to make sure they're learning. A boss wishes every worker could be conscientious: it's a rare and wonderful trait. To be conscientious, you have to be willing to do the right thing even when it's difficult. Unfortunately, many people aren't conscientious.
Vocabulary lists containing conscientious
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Great Gatsby
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Labor Day Lexicon: Words That Put You To Work
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Still, that will depend on lawmakers, regulators, and conscientious customers opposing this with all they’ve got, and soon.
From Slate • Feb. 27, 2026
"You have to be mindful and conscientious," she said, noting that last year's hosting gig in the shadow of deadly fires that devastated Los Angeles was a case in point.
From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026
A spontaneous jaunt like that is probably something he wouldn’t have done years ago, but “after a lifetime of being a conscientious spender and saver, it felt deserved,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026
Rhondda Cynon Taf council said it was "important to find the right balance between deterring what is blatant and reckless vandalism of this beautiful landscape, with the enjoyment of the thousands of conscientious visitors".
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026
His work was so conscientious that the economic model he developed was pronounced reliable by experts at the Treasury Department and in think tanks on both the right and the left.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
