self-conscious

[self-kon-shuhs, self-]

adjective

1. excessively aware of being observed by others.

2. conscious of oneself or one's own being.

self-conscious

adjective

1. unduly aware of oneself as the object of the attention of others; embarrassed

2. conscious of one's existence

Other Word Forms

• self-consciously adverb
• self-consciousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-conscious¹

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

It made her self-conscious, and she finished tucking in her hair as quickly as she could.

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It may be that it was a happy one, and you merely feel a little self-conscious about your relative wealth, or your siblings might make occasional comments on what they see as conspicuous consumption.

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But just one swipe down my Instagram feed reveals I'm not the only man who is self-conscious about his hair.

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“I’m trying to look at how people dress,” Negrete said, suddenly self-conscious about his short shorts.

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Key says he was initially intimidated singing in front of Barker in the studio and had a few moments where negative, self-conscious thoughts were getting the better of him in the vocal booth during recording.

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Related Words

• anxious 
• awkward 
• bashful 
• embarrassed www.thesaurus.com
• mannered 
• nervous 
• sheepish 
• shy 
• stiff 
• stilted 
• uncomfortable 
• uneasy 
• unsure 

When To Use

What does self-conscious mean?

Self-conscious means overly aware of and sensitive to attention from others, often to the point of feeling anxious or embarrassed.In this sense, self-conscious is always used negatively. A person can be self-conscious in general, or about a particular aspect of themselves. Much less commonly, it is used to mean aware of one’s existence.Example: She says she never wears short-sleeved shirts because she’s self-conscious about the way her arms look.