consciousness

American  

[kon-shuhs-nis] / ˈkɒn ʃəs nɪs /

noun

1. the state of being conscious; awareness of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, etc.

2. the thoughts and feelings, collectively, of an individual or of an aggregate of people.

   the moral consciousness of a nation.

3. full activity of the mind and senses, as in waking life.

   to regain consciousness after fainting.

4. awareness of something for what it is; internal knowledge.

   consciousness of wrongdoing.

5. concern, interest, or acute awareness.

   class consciousness.

6. the mental activity of which a person is aware as contrasted with unconscious mental processes.

7. Philosophy. the mind or the mental faculties as characterized by thought, feelings, and volition.

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idioms

1. raise one's consciousness, to increase one's awareness and understanding of one's own needs, behavior, attitudes, etc., especially as a member of a particular social or political group.

Other Word Forms

• underconsciousness noun

Etymology

Origin of consciousness

First recorded in 1625–35; conscious + -ness

Example Sentences

An understanding of the technology is gradually seeping into the public consciousness.

From Barron's

He regained consciousness in the back of an armored vehicle.

From The Wall Street Journal

It said it didn’t have any records of workers routinely losing consciousness or being forced to ignore alarms.

From The Wall Street Journal

The zany movie features a young environmental advocate who “hops” her consciousness into a robotic beaver and bands together with other woodland creatures to stop a planned freeway expansion through a glade.

From Los Angeles Times

It led to tireless searches of Soham and the flat countryside of The Fens, while a picture of them in matching red Manchester United shirts became ingrained on the nation's consciousness.

From BBC

Related Words

• alertness
• apprehension
• awareness
• recognition
• sensibility