consciousness-raising

[ kon-shuhs-nis-rey-zing ]

/ ˈkɒn ʃəs nɪsˌreɪ zɪŋ /

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noun

Psychology. a group-therapy technique in which the aim is to enhance the participants' awareness of their particular needs and goals as individuals or as a group.

any method for increasing interpersonal awareness or sensitivity by teaching people to experience a situation or point of view radically different from their own: The women's group has tried to change macho attitudes through consciousness-raising.

an act or instance of increasing the awareness of one's own or another's needs, behavior, attitudes, or problems.

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Origin of consciousness-raising

An Americanism dating back to 1970–75

Words nearby consciousness-raising

conscionable, conscious, consciously, consciousness, consciousness-expanding, consciousness-raising, conscious uncoupling, conscribe, conscript, conscriptee, conscript fathers

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use consciousness-raising in a sentence

The benefits of incumbency are quite potent, especially in the all-important area of raising campaign funds.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The band turned back around, raising a lively tune to signal life would go on.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There are limits to the painting of banditry and extortion as the legitimate raising of taxes.
ISIS’s Futile Quest to Go Legit|Jamie Dettmer|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I learned that he was working and living in the Lower East Side, delivering orders for an Italian restaurant and raising two kids.
Cuban Hip-Hop Was Born in Alamar|Daniel Levin|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Robert Perske has long been an activist raising awareness of the issue of false confessions by people with ID.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The controlling center of consciousness is the extreme limit of the nares anteri.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
A ray of Consciousness is passed over that impression and you re-read it, you re-awaken the record.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Mine should be of pure steel; I have ordered her out of my consciousness these last weeks at the point of the bayonet.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
“Vait a minit, sir,” said Mr. Weller, raising his hand in a deprecatory manner.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
If he had cut her, he would have shown less contempt than in that stiff raising of the hat.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for consciousness-raising

consciousness raising

noun

the process of developing awareness in a person or group of a situation regarded as wrong or unjust, with the aim of producing active participation in changing it
(as modifier)a consciousness-raising group

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

Medical definitions for consciousness-raising

consciousness-raising

A process, as by group therapy, of achieving greater awareness of one's needs in order to fulfill one's potential as a person.