definitions

conscious

[ kon-shuhs ]
/ ˈkɒn ʃəs /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR conscious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

noun

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

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RELATED WORDS

sensible, watchful, sure, mindful, certain, informed, aware, keen, cognizant, responsive, vigilant, attentive, premeditated, deliberate, calculated, responsible, rational, reflective, self-conscious, acquainted

Nearby words

conscience-stricken, conscientious, conscientious objection, conscientious objector, conscionable, conscious, conscious uncoupling, consciousness, consciousness raising, consciousness-expanding, consciousness-raising

Origin of conscious

1625–35; < Latin conscius sharing knowledge with, equivalent to con- con- + sci- (stem of scīre to know; see science) + -us -ous; cf. nice

Related forms

Can be confused

conscience conscious

Synonym study

2. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for conscious

British Dictionary definitions for conscious

conscious

/ (ˈkɒnʃəs) /

adjective

  1. alert and awake; not sleeping or comatose
  2. aware of one's surroundings, one's own thoughts and motivations, etc
  1. aware of and giving value or emphasis to a particular fact or phenomenonI am conscious of your great kindness to me
  2. (in combination)clothes-conscious
done with full awareness; deliberatea conscious effort; conscious rudeness
  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
Compare unconscious

Derived Forms

consciously, adverbconsciousness, noun

Word Origin for conscious

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

Medicine definitions for conscious

conscious

[ kŏn′shəs ]

adj.

Having an awareness of one's environment and one's own existence, sensations, and thoughts.
Intentionally conceived or done; deliberate.

n.

In psychoanalysis, the component of waking awareness perceptible by a person at any given instant.

Related forms

con′scious•ly adv.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.