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

"Responsibility, commitment, hard work and a little bit more of conscious effort. We need it."

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More a conscious repining at their existence, mixed with revulsion at the thought that she occasionally had to share space with them.

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The Swedish brand has slashed the prices of its bookshelves and bed frames in recent years, part of a conscious effort to woo shoppers after a period of rampant inflation.

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There is a lot more conscious shopping going on, but premium products aren’t dead.

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"In a special stage this big, you do have to be very conscious of all your gestures," she sums up, noting that on screen, it's the quality of an actor's expressions that the lens captures.

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Related Words

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