conscious

American  

[kon-shuhs] / ˈkɒn ʃəs /

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.

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noun

consciouses plural

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

conscious British  

/ 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

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Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• consciouses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of conscious

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

Explanation

Conscious is an adjective that simply means alert and awake. If you fall from a tree and smack your head on the side of the wheelbarrow, there's a good chance you won't be conscious afterward. Conscious is a Latin word whose original meaning was “knowing" or "aware.” So a conscious person has an awareness of her environment and her own existence and thoughts. If you're "self-conscious," you're overly aware and even embarrassed by how you think you look or act. But that sounds better than being unconscious, or totally unaware and out of it.

Example Sentences

“My father was an immigrant and my mother ran a homeless shelter and it was a socially conscious household,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026

But Ravi insists she wants "to welcome more and more people, particularly foreign nationals, who aspire to the highest ideals and are determined to live a fully conscious life."

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

In his view, there is no reason to assume that today's computer hardware gives rise to conscious experience.

From Science Daily • Jun. 24, 2026

Ghana defended in a 4-5-1 block and were conscious not to press too readily.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

It seemed we’d been driving for only a few minutes when suddenly I was conscious of silence, and of Camilla’s hand on my shoulder.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

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