conscience

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conscience

/ˈkɒn.ʃəns/ UK
/ˈkɒn.tʃəns/ UK
/ˈkɑn.ʃəns/ US
/ˈkɑn.tʃəns/ US

Where it comes from

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”).

noun consciences

countable, uncountable 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.
countable, uncountable 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.
countable, obsolete, uncountable Consciousness; thinking; awareness, especially self-awareness. Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: moral sense, scruples, opinion, belief, realisation, knowledge, cognisance, thought, soul-searching, understanding, realization, consciousness, awareness, cognizant, self-awareness, faith

Translations

Every language

noun moral sense

Español	conciencia
한국어	양심 yangsim
日本語	良心 ryōshin
中文	良心 liángxīn, 天良 tiānliáng
हिन्दी	विवेक vivek, अन्तरात्मा antarātmā, अंतःकरण antaḥkaraṇ
Kiswahili	dhamiri
Português	consciência
Français	conscience
Deutsch	Gewissen
Italiano	coscienza
Ελληνικά	συνείδηση syneídisi
Română	conștiință
Русский	со́весть sóvestʹ
Tiếng Việt	lương tâm
العربية	ضَمِير ḍamīr, طَوِيَّة ṭawiyya, وِجْدَان wijdān
עברית	מַצְפּוּן matspún

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MLA

"conscience." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/conscience. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

conscience. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/conscience

Chicago

"conscience." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/conscience.

BibTeX

@misc{conscience_2026,
  title = {conscience},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/conscience},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}