awareness
Americannoun
-
awareness
plural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of awareness
Explanation
Awareness is the state of knowing something, such as the awareness that the sun comes up every morning. The adjective aware gets turned into a noun when the suffix -ness is added, so awareness is the state of being aware, or having knowledge of something. Its roots are Germanic, and come from the Old English wær meaning "wary, cautious." Awareness can be something you notice, want to tell others about, or already know. You could "raise awareness" of a cause, like fighting breast cancer. Yet, your awareness of the baby sleeping next door might prevent you from having band practice in the garage. Smart move.
Vocabulary lists containing awareness
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The sequence has some clever gags, but you’re distracted by the awareness of being narratively underwhelmed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Coterie hopes the effort drives awareness and sparks dialogue, but also brings more men into the fold as customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
The health watchdog said, external the advice aimed to improve consistency of care, increase awareness and support earlier diagnosis and management, with the final guideline due to be published on 27 January.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
“There’s been research on this going back a few decades. It’s about the products, awareness, lack of desire to transfer money to an insurer — there are a ton of misconceptions,” said Blanchett.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Raising awareness about the role of predators in our ecosystem is an important step in their conservation.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
