conscious

[ kon-shuhs ]

adjective

1. aware of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, etc.
2. fully aware of or sensitive to something (often followed by of ):

   conscious of one's own faults; He wasn't conscious of the gossip about his past.

   Synonyms: percipient, knowing

3. having the mental faculties fully active:

   He was conscious during the operation.

4. known to oneself; felt:

   conscious guilt.

5. aware of what one is doing:

   a conscious liar.

6. aware of oneself; self-conscious.
7. deliberate; intentional:

   a conscious insult; a conscious effort.

8. acutely aware of or concerned about:

   money-conscious; a diet-conscious society.

9. Obsolete. inwardly sensible of wrongdoing.

noun

1. the conscious, Psychoanalysis. the part of the mind comprising psychic material of which the individual is aware.

conscious

/ ˈkɒnʃəs /

adjective

1. 1. alert and awake; not sleeping or comatose
   2. aware of one's surroundings, one's own thoughts and motivations, etc
2. 1. aware of and giving value or emphasis to a particular fact or phenomenon

      I am conscious of your great kindness to me

   2. ( in combination )

      clothes-conscious

3. done with full awareness; deliberate

   conscious rudeness

   a conscious effort

4. 1. denoting or relating to a part of the human mind that is aware of a person's self, environment, and mental activity and that to a certain extent determines his choices of action
   2. ( as noun )

      the conscious is only a small part of the mind

Derived Forms

• ˈconsciousness, noun
• ˈconsciously, adverb

Other Words From

• con·scious·ly adverb
• half-con·scious adjective
• half-con·scious·ness noun
• non·con·scious adjective
• non·con·scious·ness noun
• o·ver·con·scious adjective
• o·ver·con·scious·ness noun
• qua·si-con·scious adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of conscious¹

First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin conscius “sharing knowledge with,” equivalent to con- con- + sci- (stem of scīre “to know”; science ) + -us -ous; nice

Word History and Origins

Origin of conscious¹

C17: from Latin conscius sharing knowledge, from com- with + scīre to know

Synonym Study

Conscious, aware, cognizant refer to an individual sense of recognition of something within or without oneself. Conscious implies to be awake or awakened to an inner realization of a fact, a truth, a condition, etc.: to be conscious of an extreme weariness. Aware lays the emphasis on sense perceptions insofar as they are the object of conscious recognition: He was aware of the odor of tobacco. Cognizant lays the emphasis on an outer recognition more on the level of reason and knowledge than on the sensory level alone: He was cognizant of their drawbacks.

Example Sentences

"The report was never published widely, conscious of the dangers of a defamation suit," Coltart said.

From BBC

“We were very conscious of the fact that he seems to be attracted to characters that require a lot of preparation, physicality, voice work, accents, make up,” Neame says.

From Los Angeles Times

“I think that’s part of movie storytelling, but I also was very conscious that I didn’t want it to be unbelievable, even though it looks like an extraordinarily big statement,” Durran says.

From Los Angeles Times

Conscious of the confusion around approaches to retrofit, some organisations are moving to improve the advice available to homeowners.

From BBC

Scientists have long known that it is impossible to separate or fuse a conscious mind — at least, that is what they thought.

From Salon

Related Words

• attentive
• aware
• certain
• cognizant
• informed
• keen
• mindful
• responsive
• sensible
• sure
• vigilant
• watchful