English Explanatory Dictionary

conscience

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The ethical or moral sense of right and wrong, chiefly as it affects a person’s own behaviour and forms their attitude to their past actions.
  2. A personification of the moral sense of right and wrong, usually in the form of a person, a being or merely a voice that gives moral lessons and advices.
  3. Consciousness; thinking; awareness, especially self-awareness.

Pronunciation

/ˈkɒn.ʃəns/ /ˈkɒn.tʃəns/ /ˈkɑn.ʃəns/ /ˈkɑn.tʃəns/ en-us-conscience.ogg

Word forms

conscience consciences

Etymology

From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”).

Related words

conscientious conscientiously conscientiousness conscionable consciousness synteresis

Derived words

a good conscience is a soft pillow bad conscience conscience clause conscienced conscienceless consciencelike conscience money conscience-money conscience-proof conscience round conscience vote consciencewise consciencism consciencist conscientious examination of conscience exile of conscience freedom of conscience guilty conscience in all conscience in conscience in good conscience liberty of conscience make conscience my conscience of all conscience on one's conscience pang of conscience prisoner of conscience pseudoconscience speak one's conscience unconscienced

Translations

Afrikaans: gewete Albanian: ndërgjegje Northern Altai: уйат Southern Altai: уйат Amharic: ህሊና Arabic: ضَمِير Arabic: طَوِيَّة Arabic: وِجْدَان Armenian: խիղճ Azerbaijani: vicdan Azerbaijani: insaf Belarusian: со́весць Belarusian: со́весьць Belarusian: сумле́нне Belarusian: сумле́ньне Bengali: বিবেক Bulgarian: съ́вест Burmese: အသိတရား Carpathian Rusyn: со́вість Catalan: consciència Chinese Cantonese: 良心 Chinese Cantonese: 天良 Chinese Mandarin: 良心 Chinese Mandarin: 天良 Coptic: ⲥⲩⲛⲏⲇⲉⲥⲓⲥ Czech: svědomí Danish: samvittighed Dutch: geweten Dutch: gewisse Esperanto: konscienco Estonian: südametunnistus Estonian: süüme Faroese: samvitska Finnish: omatunto French: conscience West-Frisian: gewisse Friulian: cusience Friulian: cušience Galician: conciencia Georgian: ნამუსი Georgian: სინდისი German: Gewissen Greek: συνείδηση Ancient Greek: συνείδησις Hebrew: מַצְפּוּן Hindi: विवेक Hindi: अन्तरात्मा Hindi: अंतःकरण Hungarian: lelkiismeret Icelandic: samviska Ido: koncienco Indonesian: hati nurani Ingrian: sovesti Irish: coinsias
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