self-conscious

adjective

self-con·​scious ˌself-ˈkän(t)-shəs 

1

a

: conscious of one's own acts or states as belonging to or originating in oneself : aware of oneself as an individual

b

: intensely aware of oneself : conscious

a rising and self-conscious social class

also : produced or done with such awareness

self-conscious art

2

: uncomfortably conscious of oneself as an object of the observation of others : ill at ease

self-consciously adverb

self-consciousness noun

Examples of self-conscious in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In his sketches, even the most oddball figures—a focus-group participant with terrible ideas, a man struggling to back out of a parking lot—are self-conscious about their unpopularity. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 28 Nov. 2025

In the two weeks immediately after her operation, Evans felt too self-conscious of her healing wounds to leave the house. —Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 27 Nov. 2025

Irm is an anxious, self-conscious, fearful woman, and Geisler-Bading gives the film’s most subtly wrenching performance; her character seems permanently out of synch with the world, unable to look past her own unhappiness. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025

So much of how Joanne and her sister, Morgan (Justine Lupe), move through the world is with a vengeful, self-conscious internalized misogyny. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1632, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for self-conscious

• conscious
• preconscious
• subconscious
• unconscious

Kids Definition

self-conscious

adjective

self-con·​scious

ˈself-ˈkän-chəs

: uncomfortably conscious of oneself as an object of the observation of others

self-consciously adverb

self-consciousness noun