the state of being conscious awake and aware of one's surroundings, and of responding to them normally
that level of mental response and activity of which one is aware, as distinct from unconscious processes
The sound of the telephone suddenly intruded itself into his consciousness
In psychology and neuroscience consciousness means subjective experience. Once excluded from scientific study, consciousness is now considered one of its greatest challenges. We know that physical changes in the brain are related to changes in consciousness, but the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness is to understand how private subjective experience can arise from objective events such as the firing of brain cells — Dr Susan Blackmore
the state of knowing about or being conscious of something
her consciousness of her own attractiveness
(often as comb. form) concern about a specific matter or area of activity
political consciousness
class-consciousness