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Which character serves as Pinocchio's conscience in the 1940 animated film?

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conscience

American  

[kon-shuhns] / ˈkɒn ʃəns /

noun

• consciences
  plural

1. the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action.

   to follow the dictates of conscience.

2. the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual.

3. an inhibiting sense of what is prudent.

   I'd eat another piece of pie but my conscience would bother me.

4. conscientiousness.

5. Obsolete. consciousness; self-knowledge.

6. Obsolete. strict and reverential observance.

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idioms

1. have something on one's conscience, to feel guilty about something, as an act that one considers wrong.

   She behaves as if she had something on her conscience.

2. in all conscience, Also in conscience.

   1. in all reason and fairness.

   2. certainly; assuredly.

conscience British  

/ ˈkɒnʃəns /

noun

1. 1. the sense of right and wrong that governs a person's thoughts and actions

   2. regulation of one's actions in conformity to this sense

   3. a supposed universal faculty of moral insight

2. conscientiousness; diligence

3. a feeling of guilt or anxiety

   he has a conscience about his unkind action

4. obsolete consciousness

5. 1. with regard to truth and justice

   2. certainly

6. causing feelings of guilt or remorse

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conscience More Idioms  

1. see have a clear conscience; in conscience.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• consciencelessness
  noun
• subconscience
  noun
• conscienceless
  adjective
• consciencelessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• consciences
  plural

Etymology

Origin of conscience

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin conscientia “knowledge, awareness, conscience”; equivalent to con- + science

Explanation

A conscience is a built-in sense of what's right and what's wrong. That sick feeling in your stomach after you lied to your brother about borrowing his skateboard? That might be your conscience bothering you. The word conscience contains the word science, which comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning "to know" or "knowledge." You can think of your conscience as your knowledge of yourself, especially when it comes to your own morals, or your feelings about right and wrong. Pangs of conscience, which feel like an uncomfortable inner voice, are helpful when you're trying to decide the right thing to do in a particular situation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conscience consciences

David has one errand of conscience before he goes to the clinic—he apologizes to a friend he once betrayed—but otherwise approaches death with the formality of a man keeping a schedule.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

A decade later Amnesty International estimated more than 600 prisoners of conscience in the USSR.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Where has our conscience gone as a society?”

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

And Zendaya’s Athena “turns out to be a vulnerable victim of war, or perhaps a projection of Odysseus’ conscience — not a scheming and bloodthirsty war goddess.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Aureliano Segundo felt a twinge of conscience when he saw Meme’s state of prostration and he promised himself to take better care of her in the future.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

But the proposal would let us show how we disagree with each other about our shared political life, and so help direct our collective agency without sacrificing the individual voices of our consciences.

From Slate ● May 11, 2026

The Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam, for example, brought together Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish Americans who opposed the war because it violated the nation’s ideals and religious consciences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

The French film legend says that the most important thing for her about a film "is that it changes lives, changes people's consciences."

From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026

PEN America's Literary Programming Chief Officer, Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, added: "We greatly respect that writers have followed their consciences, whether they chose to remain as nominees in their respective categories or not."

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2024

Our consciences dictate that we must protest against it, that we must oppose it and that we must attempt to alter it..

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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