self-awareness

noun

self-aware·​ness ˌself-ə-ˈwer-nəs 

: an awareness of one's own personality or individuality

Examples of self-awareness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Virgos are known to process things internally, constantly observing and analyzing behavior and patterns, and Zendaya channels this almost effortlessly into a character who narrates her experiences with a brutally honest level of self-awareness while navigating addiction, grief and depression. —Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026

Similarly, Carl Sandburg, David Herbert Donald, and Doris Kearns Goodwin have depicted a Lincoln marked by humble, self-deprecating self-awareness. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 13 Apr. 2026

Human artists have designed creative parodies of AI slop, but AI lacks the necessary self-awareness to parody itself, even with a human behind the wheel. —Cath Virginia, The Verge, 11 Apr. 2026

Now, that same self-awareness has become the norm across the increasingly lucrative scary movie industry. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-awareness

• awareness
• unfairness
• bareness
• fairness
• squareness
• unawareness

Kids Definition

self-awareness

noun

self-aware·​ness

ˌsel-fə-ˈwa(ə)r-nəs, 

-ˈwe(ə)r-

: an awareness of one's own personality or individuality

Medical Definition

self-awareness

noun

self-aware·​ness

: an awareness of one's own personality or individuality