What does conscience mean?

Definitions for conscience
ˈkɒn ʃənscon·science

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word conscience.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. conscience, scruples, moral sense, sense of right and wrongnoun

    motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions

  2. consciencenoun

    conformity to one's own sense of right conduct

    "a person of unflagging conscience"

  3. consciencenoun

    a feeling of shame when you do something immoral

    "he has no conscience about his cruelty"

Wiktionary

  1. consciencenoun

    The moral sense of right and wrong, chiefly as it affects one's own behaviour; inwit.

  2. consciencenoun

    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.

  3. consciencenoun

    Consciousness; thinking; awareness, especially self-awareness.

  4. Etymology: From conscience, from conscientia, from consciens, present participle of conscire, from com- + scire.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. CONSCIENCEnoun

    Etymology: conscientia, Latin.

    When a people have no touch of conscience, no sense of their evil doings, it is bootless to think to restrain them. Edmund Spenser.

    On earth,
    Who against faith, and conscience, can be heard
    Infallible? John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. xii. l. 529.

    Such a conscience has not been wanting to itself, in endeavouring to get the clearest information about the will of God. Robert South, Sermons.

    But why must those be thought to ’scape, that feel
    Those rods of scorpions, and those whips of steel,
    Which conscience shakes? John Dryden, Juv. Sat. 13.

    No courts created yet, nor cause was heard;
    But all was safe, for conscience was their guard. John Dryden, Ovid.

    Conscience signifies that knowledge which a man hath of his own thoughts and actions; and, because if a man judgeth fairly of his actions, by comparing them with the law of God, his mind will approve or condemn him, this knowledge or conscience may be both an accuser and a judge. Jonathan Swift.

    This is thank worthy, if a man, for conscience toward God, endure grief. 1 Pet. ii. 19.

    Now is Cupid a child of conscience; he makes restitution. William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor.

    He had, against right and conscience, by shameful treachery, intruded himself into another man’s kingdom in Africk. Richard Knolles, History of the Turks.

    What you require cannot, in conscience, be deferred beyond this time. John Milton.

    Her majesty is, without question, obliged in conscience to endeavour this by her authority, as much as by her practice. Jonathan Swift, Project for the Advancement of Religion.

    Merit, and good works, is the end of man’s motion; and conscience of the same is the accomplishment of man’s rest. Francis Bacon.

    The reason why the simpler sort are moved with authority, is the conscience of their own ignorance. Richard Hooker, b. ii. s. 6.

    The sweetest cordial we receive at last,
    Is conscience of our virtuous actions past. John Denham.

    Hector was in an absolute certainty of death, and depressed with the conscience of being in an ill cause. Alexander Pope.

    Do’st thou in conscience think, tell me, Æmilia,
    That there be women do abuse their husbands,
    In such gross kind? William Shakespeare, Othello.

    They did in their consciences know, that he was not able to send them any part of it. Edward Hyde, b. viii.

    We must make a conscience in keeping the just laws of superiours. Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living.

    Why should not the one make as much conscience of betraying for gold, as the other of doing it for a crust. Roger L'Estrange.

    Children are travellers newly arrived in a strange country; we should therefore make conscience not to mislead them. John Locke.

    Why do’st thou weep? Can’st thou the conscience lack,
    To think I shall lack friends? William Shakespeare, Timon.

    Half a dozen fools are, in all conscience, as many as you should require. Jonathan Swift.

Wikipedia

  1. Conscience

    Conscience is a cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual's moral philosophy or value system. Conscience stands in contrast to elicited emotion or thought due to associations based on immediate sensory perceptions and reflexive responses, as in sympathetic central nervous system responses. In common terms, conscience is often described as leading to feelings of remorse when a person commits an act that conflicts with their moral values. The extent to which conscience informs moral judgment before an action and whether such moral judgments are or should be based on reason has occasioned debate through much of modern history between theories of basics in ethic of human life in juxtaposition to the theories of romanticism and other reactionary movements after the end of the Middle Ages. Religious views of conscience usually see it as linked to a morality inherent in all humans, to a beneficent universe and/or to divinity. The diverse ritualistic, mythical, doctrinal, legal, institutional and material features of religion may not necessarily cohere with experiential, emotive, spiritual or contemplative considerations about the origin and operation of conscience. Common secular or scientific views regard the capacity for conscience as probably genetically determined, with its subject probably learned or imprinted as part of a culture.Commonly used metaphors for conscience include the "voice within", the "inner light", or even Socrates' reliance on what the Greeks called his "daimōnic sign", an averting (ἀποτρεπτικός apotreptikos) inner voice heard only when he was about to make a mistake. Conscience, as is detailed in sections below, is a concept in national and international law, is increasingly conceived of as applying to the world as a whole, has motivated numerous notable acts for the public good and been the subject of many prominent examples of literature, music and film.

ChatGPT

  1. conscience

    Conscience is a term that refers to an inherent moral sense or personal awareness of right and wrong. It is the ability to differentiate between one's own values, beliefs, and principles and to judge the morality and ethicality of one's own thoughts, actions, and decisions. Conscience acts as an internal compass, guiding individuals to make decisions that align with their personal sense of integrity and moral duty. It is often influenced by individual upbringing, societal norms, religious beliefs, and personal experiences.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Consciencenoun

    knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness

  2. Consciencenoun

    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

  3. Consciencenoun

    the estimate or determination of conscience; conviction or right or duty

  4. Consciencenoun

    tenderness of feeling; pity

  5. Etymology: [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p. pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]

Wikidata

  1. Conscience

    Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgment may derive from values or norms. In psychological terms conscience is often described as leading to feelings of remorse when a human commits actions that go against his/her moral values and to feelings of rectitude or integrity when actions conform to such norms. The extent to which conscience informs moral judgment before an action and whether such moral judgments are or should be based in reason has occasioned debate through much of the history of Western philosophy. Religious views of conscience usually see it as linked to a morality inherent in all humans, to a beneficent universe and/or to divinity. The diverse ritualistic, mythical, doctrinal, legal, institutional and material features of religion may not necessarily cohere with experiential, emotive, spiritual or contemplative considerations about the origin and operation of conscience. Common secular or scientific views regard the capacity for conscience as probably genetically determined, with its subject probably learned or imprinted as part of a culture.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Conscience

    kon′shens, n. the knowledge of our own acts and feelings as right or wrong: sense of duty: scrupulousness: (Shak.) understanding: the faculty or principle by which we distinguish right from wrong.—adjs. Con′science-proof, unvisited by any compunctions of conscience; Con′science-smit′ten, stung by conscience; Conscien′tious, regulated by a regard to conscience: scrupulous.—adv. Conscien′tiously.—n. Conscien′tiousness.—adj. Con′scionable, governed or regulated by conscience.—n. Con′scionableness.—adv. Con′scionably.—Conscience clause, a clause in a law, affecting religious matters, to relieve persons of conscientious scruples, esp. one to prevent their children being compelled to undergo particular religious instruction; Conscience money, money given to relieve the conscience, by discharging a claim previously evaded; Case of conscience, a question in casuistry.—Good, or Bad, conscience, an approving or reproving conscience.—In all conscience, certainly: (coll.) by all that is right and fair.—Make a matter of conscience, to act according to conscience: to have scruples about.—My conscience! a vulgar exclamation of astonishment, or an asseveration.—Speak one's conscience (Shak.), to speak frankly: to give one's opinion. [Fr.,—L. conscientia, knowledge—conscīre, to know well—con, and scīre, to know.]

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. conscience

    1. The muzzle of the will. 2. The Pecksniffian mask of the fundamental Bill Sykes. 3. The aspiration of Rosinante to be Pegasus.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Conscience

    The cognitive and affective processes which constitute an internalized moral governor over an individual's moral conduct.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz

  1. CONSCIENCE

    The fear of being found out.

Editors Contribution

  1. conscience

    The act, fact, quality, and ability to use our mind, soul, spirit, passion and consciousness as a form of sane, logical and rational power and motivation and a form of ethical and moral principles that govern our thoughts and actions.

    Our conscience is an important element of our mind and soul and contributes to our sense of justness, fairness, actions, motivation and authority.


    Submitted by MaryC on April 3, 2020  

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'conscience' in Nouns Frequency: #2352

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of conscience in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of conscience in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of conscience in a Sentence

  1. Mark Twain, Following the Equator (1897):

    It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.

  2. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche:

    I know my fate. One day my name will be associated with the memory of something tremendous--a crisis without equal on earth, the most profound collision of conscience, a decision that was conjured up against everything that had been believed, demanded, hallowed so far. I am no man, I am dynamite.

  3. House Republicans:

    I’m not going anywhere. This is a vote of conscience, it’s one where there are different views in our conference. But our nation is facing an unprecedented, since the Civil War, constitutional crisis.

  4. Donald Trump:

    This attack shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief. Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job.

  5. Scandinavian Human Rights Lawyers:

    Restrictions on the right to freedom of conscience must be supported by law and be necessary in a democratic society.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

conscience#10000#12397#100000

Translations for conscience

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"conscience." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/conscience>.

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