conscious

[kon-shuhs]

adjective

1. aware of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, etc.

2. fully aware of or sensitive to something (often followed byof ).

   conscious of one's own faults; He wasn't conscious of the gossip about his past.

   Synonyms: percipient, knowing

3. having the mental faculties fully active.

   He was conscious during the operation.

4. known to oneself; felt.

   conscious guilt.

5. aware of what one is doing.

   a conscious liar.

6. aware of oneself; self-conscious.

7. deliberate; intentional.

   a conscious insult; a conscious effort.

8. acutely aware of or concerned about.

   money-conscious; a diet-conscious society.

9. Obsolete.,  inwardly sensible of wrongdoing.

noun

1. Psychoanalysis.,  the conscious, the part of the mind comprising psychic material of which the individual is aware.

conscious

/ ˈkɒnʃəs /

adjective

1. 1. alert and awake; not sleeping or comatose

   2. aware of one's surroundings, one's own thoughts and motivations, etc

2. 1. aware of and giving value or emphasis to a particular fact or phenomenon

      I am conscious of your great kindness to me

   2. ( in combination )

      clothes-conscious

3. done with full awareness; deliberate

   a conscious effort

   conscious rudeness

4. 1. denoting or relating to a part of the human mind that is aware of a person's self, environment, and mental activity and that to a certain extent determines his choices of action

   2. ( as noun )

      the conscious is only a small part of the mind

Other Word Forms

• consciously adverb
• half-conscious adjective
• half-consciousness noun
• nonconscious adjective
• nonconsciousness noun
• overconscious adjective
• overconsciousness noun
• quasi-conscious adjective
• consciousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of conscious¹

First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin conscius “sharing knowledge with,” equivalent to con- con- + sci- (stem of scīre “to know”; science ) + -us -ous; nice

Word History and Origins

Origin of conscious¹

C17: from Latin conscius sharing knowledge, from com- with + scīre to know

Synonym Study

Conscious, aware, cognizant refer to an individual sense of recognition of something within or without oneself. Conscious implies to be awake or awakened to an inner realization of a fact, a truth, a condition, etc.: to be conscious of an extreme weariness. Aware lays the emphasis on sense perceptions insofar as they are the object of conscious recognition: He was aware of the odor of tobacco. Cognizant lays the emphasis on an outer recognition more on the level of reason and knowledge than on the sensory level alone: He was cognizant of their drawbacks.

Example Sentences

Has it been a conscious decision to stay with one label?

From Los Angeles Times

"We are extremely conscious of the stressful and often traumatic experiences that hospital visits can generate, particularly for children and their parents," they said.

From BBC

Mr Tillman says: "There's always that conscious thought about 'if it goes wrong, how could this impact the individuals on the street? How could it affect their jobs, their livelihoods?'."

From BBC

That has been helped by a conscious, collective effort to keep everyone included, regardless of their role on match day.

From BBC

"It's made me more conscious of my appearance."

From BBC

Related Words

• attentive 
• aware 
• certain 
• cognizant 
• informed 
• keen 
• mindful 
• responsive 
• sensible 
• sure 
• vigilant 
• watchful