conscious

adjective con·scious \ ˈkän(t)-shəs \

Updated on: 1 Dec 2017

Definition of conscious

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

See conscious defined for English-language learners

See conscious defined for kids

Examples of conscious in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of conscious from the Web

The man was conscious and breathing when police arrived.

— sarah brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "2 schools on lockdown Wednesday afternoon due to shootings," 1 Nov. 2017
Uber has long touted an eco-conscious business model, proposing the rideshare scheme ultimately gets cars off the road.

— eleanor cummins, Ars Technica, "Emissions, eschmissions: How to (simply) reduce your carbon footprint in 2017," 28 Oct. 2017
AWMs target cash-conscious investors who cannot afford or do not wish to pay a human adviser.

— The Economist, "Silicon speculators," 26 Oct. 2017
McCallany, Groff and Fincher were all conscious of the need to steer Holden and Bill’s relationship away from buddy cop cliche.

— emma dibdin, Esquire, "How Mindhunter Successfully Avoided All of the 'Buddy Cop' Traps," 20 Oct. 2017
The victim was conscious and is expected to survive, the chief said.

— scott calvert, WSJ, "Police Capture Suspect in Maryland Business Park Shooting That Left Three Dead," 18 Oct. 2017
The astronauts, the article said, were very likely alive until the very end and might have even been conscious.

— sarah scoles, The Atlantic, "Space Travel's Existential Question," 6 Oct. 2017
When the officers arrived, Lewis was conscious but had serious head injuries, including cuts to his face, officials said in a statement.

— barbara boyer, Philly.com, "Camden woman charged with beating her boyfriend to death with two frying pans," 3 Oct. 2017
Bosch said Iconic needs two things in order to grow to the next level -- big cities and access to large pockets of the type of health-conscious consumers who are likely to try an on-the-go protein drink.

— jennifer larino, NOLA.com, "Protein drink maker gets $8 million to expand, moves HQ from New Orleans to California," 18 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conscious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of conscious

Latin conscius, from com- + scire to know

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1600

See Words from the same year

conscious Synonyms

Synonyms

alive, apprehensive, aware, cognizant, mindful, sensible, sentient, ware, witting

Antonyms

insensible, oblivious, unaware, unconscious, unmindful, unwitting

Related Words

alert, attentive, careful, cautious, heedful, observant, open-eyed, regardful, safe, vigilant, wary, watchful, wide-awake; hyperaware, hyperconscious

Near Antonyms

careless, heedless, inattentive, incautious, mindless, unguarded, unheeding, unwary

Synonym Discussion of 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

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

conscious

noun

Definition of conscious

: consciousness 5

Examples of conscious in a Sentence

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

Origin and Etymology of conscious

see ¹conscious

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1919

See Words from the same year

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

CONSCIOUS Defined for English Language Learners

conscious

adjective

Definition of conscious for English Language Learners

: awake and able to understand what is happening around you
: aware of something (such as a fact or feeling) : knowing that something exists or is happening
: known or felt by yourself

CONSCIOUS Defined for Kids

conscious

adjective con·scious \ ˈkän-shəs \

Definition of conscious for Students

1 : aware of facts, feelings, or some particular condition or situation

He … was painfully conscious of his many missing buttons.
—J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

2 : known or felt by a person's inner self

conscious guilt

3 : mentally awake or active

He remained conscious following the accident.

4 : intentional

I made a conscious effort to be polite.

—

consciously

adverb

Word Root of conscious

The Latin word scīre, meaning “to know” or “to understand,” gives us the root sci. Words from the Latin scīre have something to do with knowing or understanding. Science is the understanding of the world and how everything in it works. A person's conscience is the knowledge of right and wrong and the feeling that he or she should do right. Anything that is conscious knows what it is feeling.

Medical Dictionary

conscious

adjective con·scious \ ˈkän-chəs \

medical Definition of conscious

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

play \-lē\ adverb

conscious

noun

medical Definition of conscious

: consciousness 3

Learn More about conscious

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for conscious Spanish Central: Translation of conscious Nglish: Translation of conscious for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of conscious for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up conscious? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

conscious

Definition of conscious

consciously

Explore M-W

Examples of conscious in a Sentence

Recent Examples of conscious from the Web

Origin and Etymology of conscious

conscious Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of conscious

Other Psychology Terms

conscious

Definition of conscious

Examples of conscious in a Sentence

Origin and Etymology of conscious

Other Psychology Terms

CONSCIOUS Defined for English Language Learners

conscious

Definition of conscious for English Language Learners

CONSCIOUS Defined for Kids

conscious

Definition of conscious for Students

consciously

Word Root of conscious

Medical Dictionary

conscious

medical Definition of conscious

consciously

conscious

medical Definition of conscious

Learn More about conscious

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Trending: Franks Resigns Amid 'Surrogacy' Scandal

'Wreck' and 'Reckless': Accidents Happen

Intact Latin Quiz

It's a Living: Last Names That Started as Jobs

Words of the Year: 1066