conscious
/ˈkɒnʃəs
/adjective
1Aware of and responding to one’s surroundings: although I was in pain, I was conscious...
- He was admitted to the ICU conscious and alert, but with a very low blood pressure, and very marginal oxygenation.
- The first man has spat out his endotracheal tube and is conscious, asking what the score is.
- Its critics claim that some downed animals are passed by inspectors because they are just conscious enough to respond to a kick.
Synonyms
aware, awake, wide awake, compos mentis, alert, responsive, reactive, feeling, sentient
aware of, alive to, awake to, alert to, sensitive to, cognizant of, mindful of, sensible of
informal wise to, in the know about, hip to
archaic ware of
rare seized of, recognizant of, regardful of
2Having knowledge of something: we are conscious of the extent of the problem...
- We are conscious of what we do to the extent that we are conscious also of what we do not do - of what we might have done.
- The pupils were aware of the obesity problem and conscious of the need to eat healthy foods.
- We have never been so aware of the issue of waste, or so conscious of the need to recycle.
2.1 [in combination] Concerned with or worried about a particular matter: they were growing increasingly security-conscious
3(Of an action or feeling) deliberate and intentional: a conscious effort to walk properly...
- The effort was conscious and deliberate with each artist paired with a designer.
- This calls for conscious and deliberate efforts to develop qualities like altruism and selflessness.
- Just imagine what the world would be like if every one of us made a conscious effort to genuinely love one another?
Synonyms
deliberate, intentional, intended, done on purpose, purposeful, purposive, willed, knowing, considered, studied, strategic;
calculated, wilful, premeditated, planned, pre-planned, preconceived, volitional;
aforethought
Law, dated prepense
3.1(Of the mind or a thought) directly perceptible to and under the control of the person concerned: when you go to sleep it is only the conscious mind which shuts down...
- And hypnosis works was bypassing the conscious mind and communicating directly with the unconscious mind.
- The war is between my habitual and conscious thoughts about how to live and a new perspective struggling to be born.
- In this totality the conscious mind is contained like a smaller circle within a larger one.
Origin
Late 16th century (in the sense 'being aware of wrongdoing'): from Latin conscius 'knowing with others or in oneself' (from conscire 'be privy to') + -ous.