Dictionary / conscience
conscience
- noun
- from Old French
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.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “conscience” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
noun
- countableuncountableThe 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.
Your conscience is your highest authority.
- countableuncountableA 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.
Older & obsolete senses (1)
- countableobsoleteuncountableConsciousness; thinking; awareness, especially self-awareness.
Cross-check: WordNet senses (3)
- nounmotivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions — also: scruples, moral sense, sense of right and wrong
- nounconformity to one's own sense of right conduct
- nouna feeling of shame when you do something immoral
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)conscience
- Middle Englishconscience
- Old Frenchconscience
- Latinconscientia “knowledge within oneself”
- Latinconsciens
- Latincom- “together” + scire “to know”
From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”) (a calque of Ancient Greek σῠνείδησῐς (sŭneídēsĭs)), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”).
Derivatives — words built from “conscience”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “conscience” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “conscience” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
conscience n. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p. pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness.
- The faculty, power, or inward principle which decides as to the character of one's own actions, purposes, and affections, warning against and condemning that which is wrong, and approving and prompting to that which is right; the moral faculty passing judgment on one's self; the moral sense.
- The estimate or determination of conscience; conviction or right or duty.
- Tenderness of feeling; pity.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
nounMeaning: 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.
Your conscience is your highest authority.
1949, Albert Einstein, as quoted by Virgil Henshaw in Albert Einstein: Philosopher Scientist, Never do anything against conscience, even if the state demands it.
nounMeaning: conformity to one's own sense of right conduct
a person of unflagging conscience
nounMeaning: a feeling of shame when you do something immoral
he has no conscience about his cruelty
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
conscience
/ˈkɒn.ʃəns/
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
conscience
/ˈkɒn.ʃəns/ · noun
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “conscience” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “conscience” and what each means:
Step 4 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Latin conscientia. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 5 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — conscience
Origin: D. Old French (Old French conscience)
Journey: English conscience ← Middle English conscience ← Old French conscience ← Latin conscientia ← Latin consciens ← Latin com- + scire
Some derivatives: conscienced, conscienceless, consciencelike, conscience-money, conscience-proof, consciencewise, consciencism, consciencist
Original meaning: Latin conscientia — “knowledge within oneself”
Built from: com- “together” + scire “to know”
Etymology: From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”) (a calque of Ancient Greek σῠνείδησῐς (sŭneídēsĭs)), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”).
Sources: Wiktionary “conscience” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/conscience#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/conscience