Standard Lemma guide

conscious

adj · noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: kŏnʹshəs
  • General-American: /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkɒn.ʃəs/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkɒntʃəs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑnʃəs
  • rhymes with -ɒnʃəs
  • rhymes with -ɒntʃəs
  • CMU ARPABET: K AA1 N SH AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Alert, awake; with one's mental faculties active.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The noise woke me, but it was another few minutes before I was fully conscious.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Aware of one's own existence; aware of one's own awareness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Only highly intelligent beings can be fully conscious.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Aware of, sensitive to; observing and noticing, or being strongly interested in or concerned about.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I was conscious of a noise behind me. a very class-conscious analysis

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Deliberate, intentional, done with awareness of what one is doing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Known or felt personally, internally by a person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • conscious guilt

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Self-conscious, or aware of wrongdoing, feeling guilty.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rare

Examples

  • c. 1634, John Dryden (translator), Richard Crashaw, Epigrammatum sacrorum liber The conscious water saw its God, and blushed.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

The part of the mind that is aware of itself; the consciousness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective

Meaning 8

knowing and perceiving; having awareness of surroundings and sensations and thoughts

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • remained conscious during the operation
  • conscious of his faults
  • became conscious that he was being followed

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: unconscious

9

adjective satellite

Meaning 9

intentionally conceived

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a conscious effort to speak more slowly
  • a conscious policy

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: witting

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

First use appears c. 1573 in the sense of "aware of wrongdoing".https://web.archive.org/web/20220714064352/https://www.lexico.com/definition/conscious From Latin cōnscius (“conscious, conscious of guilt”), itself from con- (a form of com- (“together”)) + scīre (“to know”) + -us.

Across languages

Translations

99 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: в съзнание (v sǎznanie) — alert, awake
  • Catalan: conscient — alert, awake
  • Czech: při vědomí — alert, awake
  • Dutch: bij bewustzijn — alert, awake
  • Dutch: alert — alert, awake
  • Dutch: wakker — alert, awake
  • Esperanto: konscia — alert, awake
  • Finnish: hereillä — alert, awake
  • Finnish: tajuissaan — alert, awake
  • French: conscient — alert, awake
  • Georgian: ფხიზელი (pxizeli) — alert, awake
  • German: bei Bewusstsein — alert, awake
  • German: wach — alert, awake
  • German: aufmerksam — alert, awake
  • Greek: συνειδητός (syneiditós) — alert, awake
  • Greek: ξύπνιος (xýpnios) — alert, awake
  • Hebrew: בהכרה (behakará) — alert, awake
  • Hebrew: מודע (mudá) — alert, awake
  • Hindi: सचेत (sacet) — alert, awake
  • Hungarian: magánál van — alert, awake
  • Hungarian: éber — alert, awake
  • Hungarian: tudatos — alert, awake
  • Icelandic: vita af sér — alert, awake
  • Irish: aithne a bheih i — alert, awake
  • Italian: cosciente — alert, awake
  • Karakhanid: اَذِغْ (aδïɣ) — alert, awake
  • Latin: cōnsciēns — alert, awake
  • Latin: cōnscius — alert, awake
  • Macedonian: свесен (svesen) — alert, awake
  • Māori: maurioho — alert, awake
  • Polish: przytomny — alert, awake
  • Polish: świadomy — alert, awake
  • Portuguese: consciente — alert, awake
  • Romanian: conștient — alert, awake
  • Russian: находя́щийся в сознании (naxodjáščijsja) — alert, awake
  • Serbo-Croatian: свје̏стан — alert, awake
  • Serbo-Croatian: svjȅstan — alert, awake
  • Slovak: pri vedomí — alert, awake
  • Spanish: consciente — alert, awake
  • Swedish: vid sans — alert, awake
  • Tagalog: maymalay — alert, awake
  • Turkish: ayık — alert, awake
  • Turkish: uyanık — alert, awake
  • Turkish: farkında — alert, awake
  • Ukrainian: прито́мний (prytómnyj) — alert, awake
  • Bulgarian: съзнателен (sǎznatelen) — aware of one's own existence
  • Bulgarian: осъзнат (osǎznat) — aware of one's own existence
  • Catalan: conscient — aware of one's own existence
  • Dutch: bewust — aware of one's own existence
  • Finnish: tietoinen — aware of one's own existence
  • French: conscient — aware of one's own existence
  • Georgian: ცნობიერი (cnobieri) — aware of one's own existence
  • German: bewusst — aware of one's own existence
  • Greek: συνειδητός (syneiditós) — aware of one's own existence
  • Hebrew: מודע לעצמו (mudá leatsmó) — aware of one's own existence
  • Hungarian: tudatos — aware of one's own existence
  • Ingrian: tiitoin — aware of one's own existence
  • Irish: comhfhiosach — aware of one's own existence
  • Italian: cosciente — aware of one's own existence
  • Latin: cōnsciēns — aware of one's own existence
  • Portuguese: consciente — aware of one's own existence
  • Swedish: medveten — aware of one's own existence
  • Bulgarian: усещащ (useštašt) — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Bulgarian: съзнаващ (sǎznavašt) — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Czech: vědomý — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Dutch: bewust — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Finnish: tietoinen — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • French: conscient — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Georgian: ცნობიერი (cnobieri) — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • German: bewusst — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Greek: συνειδητός (syneiditós) — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Hebrew: מודע (mudá) — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Hebrew: ער (er) — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Hindi: जागरूक (jāgrūk) — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Hungarian: tisztában van — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Hungarian: tudatában van — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Icelandic: meðvitaður — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Ingrian: tiitoin — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Irish: tuig go — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Italian: cosciente — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Italian: conscio — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Italian: consapevole — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Latin: cōnsciēns — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Māori: mauriora — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Māori: tūoho — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Portuguese: consciente — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Romanian: conștient — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Russian: сознаю́щий (soznajúščij) — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Scottish Gaelic: mothachail — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Slovak: vedomý — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Swedish: medveten — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Turkish: farkında — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Ottoman Turkish: خبردار (haberdâr) — aware of or alert to, sensitive to
  • Dutch: bewust — deliberate, intentional
  • German: bewusst — deliberate, intentional
  • Hungarian: tudatos — deliberate, intentional
  • Icelandic: meðvitaður — deliberate, intentional
  • Irish: comhfhiosach — deliberate, intentional
  • Swedish: medveten — deliberate, intentional
Real reading context

conscious in complete knowledge articles