conscientiousness

noun

con·​sci·​en·​tious·​ness ˌkän(t)-shē-ˈen(t)-shəs-nəs 

plural conscientiousnesses

: the condition or quality of being conscientious

Apparently, the secret to a happy, healthy adulthood is learning early on to deal with disappointment and developing character traits—persistence, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control—to surmount it.

—Deanna Pan

Not surprisingly, they have found that people blessed with innate conscientiousness, meaning that they are organized and predictable, typically eat better and live longer than people who are disorderly.

—Gretchen Reynolds

Synonyms

• care
• carefulness
• closeness
• heed
• heedfulness
• meticulosity
• meticulousness
• pains
• scrupulousness

Examples of conscientiousness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One possibility, the study authors wrote, is that traits like conscientiousness help people perform better on cognitive tests, indicative of their ability to cope with the challenges of dementia. —Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Jan. 2024

Personality Types and Zodiac Signs The BTI measures five main personality factors — extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and agreeableness. —Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2024

New research has found that people who have the Big Five personality traits of conscientiousness and positive affect are less likely to be diagnosed with dementia. —Sherri Gordon, Health, 6 Dec. 2023

For example, people who score high in conscientiousness may be more likely to take care of their health. —Sherri Gordon, Health, 6 Dec. 2023

Personality tools like the Big Five Inventory, a self-report scale used to measure the big five personality traits–openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism–can be used during the hiring process or in performance evaluations. —Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

The research delves into how our faces can be a roadmap to understanding traits like extroversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. —Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 20 Oct. 2023

There’s a real conscientiousness on my part to try to meet people halfway — because most people don’t know what an audio drama is. —Ariel Shapiro, The Verge, 3 Oct. 2023

Mark Zuckerberg’s intelligence, energy, and conscientiousness are tremendous. —Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1631, in the meaning defined above