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.
An Americanism dating back to 1970–75
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A playful work of historical reclamation, it re-creates a women’s consciousness-raising group at an Ohio recreation center in the 1970s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
They could almost be gathering for consciousness-raising and general complaining about the state of the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
It felt the way I imagine those famous ’70s consciousness-raising sessions must have felt: like simultaneous creation and discovery.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026
It’s like a twisted blend of “The Voice,” “The Crown,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” — and a women’s consciousness-raising group.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2023
“Gloria” doubles as a consciousness-raising session, especially in the last 15 minutes, in which audience members are invited to share aloud their responses to the show.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 16, 2023
And one of the unforeseen, ironic results of the genuinely valuable conversation and consciousness raising that books like “Unraveled” have spurred is that sustainability itself has been transformed into a selling point.
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2021
“There needs to be education and consciousness raising within the armed forces on how to treat and how to engage with ethnic minorities. Not just with Indigenous but also Afro-Colombians,” she said.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 30, 2020
That was part of my consciousness raising and part of the reason I became a feminist.”
From The Guardian ● Jul. 19, 2019
"But I can only do what feels right during these difficult times of transition and collective consciousness raising," she continued.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2019
But I can only do what feels right during these difficult times of transition and collective consciousness raising.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2019
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
