conscience
Americannoun
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the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action.
to follow the dictates of conscience.
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the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual.
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an inhibiting sense of what is prudent.
I'd eat another piece of pie but my conscience would bother me.
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Obsolete. consciousness; self-knowledge.
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Obsolete. strict and reverential observance.
noun
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the sense of right and wrong that governs a person's thoughts and actions
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regulation of one's actions in conformity to this sense
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a supposed universal faculty of moral insight
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conscientiousness; diligence
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a feeling of guilt or anxiety
he has a conscience about his unkind action
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obsolete consciousness
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with regard to truth and justice
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certainly
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causing feelings of guilt or remorse
Other Word Forms
- conscienceless adjective
- consciencelessly adverb
- consciencelessness noun
- subconscience noun
Etymology
Origin of conscience
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin conscientia “knowledge, awareness, conscience”; equivalent to con- + science
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The 33rd president was “plainly human, pulled here and there by forces of history, by the things he knew and did not know, and his conscience.”
She knows that's still the "don't give up" message, nagging at her conscience.
From BBC
Singh defended himself during the debate, saying that his "conscience remains clear" and disagreed with the debate's resolution that his behaviour was "dishonourable and unbecoming".
From BBC
As I escorted the woozy client through the waiting room and out the door, I felt an itch of guilt begin to bother my conscience like a mosquito bite.
From Literature
"Morally and in good conscience from an ethical perspective, I do not think I can continue to use this site," she said.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
