conscious

1 of 2

adjective

con·​scious ˈkän(t)-shəs 

1

: having mental faculties not dulled by sleep, faintness, or stupor : awake

became conscious after the anesthesia wore off

2

: perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation

conscious of having succeeded

was conscious that someone was watching

3

: personally felt

conscious guilt

4

a

: likely to notice, consider, or appraise

a bargain-conscious shopper

b

: being concerned or interested

a budget-conscious businessman

c

: marked by strong feelings or notions

a race-conscious society

5

: done or acting with critical awareness

a conscious effort to do better

6

: capable of or marked by thought, will, design, or perception

7

: self-conscious

8

archaic : sharing another's knowledge or awareness of an inward state or outward fact

consciously adverb

conscious

2 of 2

noun

: consciousness sense 5

Synonyms

Adjective

• aware

Choose the Right Synonym for conscious

aware, cognizant, conscious, sensible, alive, awake mean having knowledge of something.

aware implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences.

aware of changes in climate

cognizant implies having special or certain knowledge as from firsthand sources.

not fully cognizant of the facts

conscious implies that one is focusing one's attention on something or is even preoccupied by it.

conscious that my heart was pounding

sensible implies direct or intuitive perceiving especially of intangibles or of emotional states or qualities.

sensible of a teacher's influence

alive adds to sensible the implication of acute sensitivity to something.

alive to the thrill of danger

awake implies that one has become alive to something and is on the alert.

a country always awake to the threat of invasion

Examples of conscious in a Sentence

Adjective

The chances of being admitted conscious to a hospital without being pressed to produce a living will, have become virtually nil … —Joan Didion, New York Review of Books, 9 June 2005

"Was she good-looking?" "Actually, my conscious mind no longer remembers anything about her physical appearance. She went the way of my seventh-grade French." —Joseph Wambaugh, Finnegan's Week, 1994

Incidentally, neither my mother nor I was conscious of any rudeness. —Flannery O'Connor, The Habit of Being, 1979

Bilbo bowed. He had no hat to take off, and was painfully conscious of his many missing buttons. —J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, 1937

Is the patient conscious yet?

He was fully conscious when we found him.

the capacity for conscious thought

Noun

For myself, ever since 1922, when I saw my first picture, films have been barreling through my conscious to my unconscious, but insofar as they remain in my conscious, they get themselves arranged in hierarchies of value and, more important, affection. —Stanley Kauffmann, Before My Eyes, (1974) 1980

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In this city, at least, they were never forgotten, says Markova, in part because the company was known for its socially conscious local investments, building homes for its workers, a community pool, and more. —Will Tizard, Variety, 25 Oct. 2025

The family said Toby remained conscious following the impact and asked the semi-truck driver to call 911. —Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025

Noun

This step is about making the unconscious conscious to uncover habitual patterns and limiting beliefs. —Neerja Bhatia, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Latin conscius, from com- + scire to know

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1600, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1919, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing conscious

• class-conscious
• eco-conscious
• hyper-conscious
• self-conscious
• unself-conscious

Rhymes for conscious

• preconscious
• subconscious
• unconscious

Kids Definition

conscious

adjective

con·​scious

ˈkän-chəs

1

: aware of facts or feelings

was conscious of the cold

2

: known or felt by one's inner self

conscious guilt

3

: mentally alert or active

became conscious again

4

: done with awareness or purpose

a conscious effort to improve

consciously adverb

Etymology

Adjective

from Latin conscius "knowing or being aware of something, knowing something along with another person," derived from con-, com- "with" and scire "to know" — related to science

Medical Definition

conscious

1 of 2 adjective

con·​scious ˈkän-chəs 

1

: capable of or marked by thought, will, design, or perception : relating to, being, or being part of consciousness

the conscious mind

conscious and unconscious processes

2

: having mental faculties undulled by sleep, faintness, or stupor

became conscious after the anesthesia wore off

consciously

-lē 

adverb

conscious

2 of 2 noun

: consciousness sense 3