Definitions for conscience
ˈkɒn ʃənscon·science

Princeton's WordNet(2.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. conscience, scruples, moral sense, sense of right and wrong(noun)

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

2. conscience(noun)

   conformity to one's own sense of right conduct

   "a person of unflagging conscience"

3. conscience(noun)

   a feeling of shame when you do something immoral

   "he has no conscience about his cruelty"

Wiktionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. conscience(Noun)

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

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

2. conscience(Noun)

   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.

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

3. conscience(Noun)

   Consciousness; thinking; awareness, especially self-awareness.

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

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Conscience(noun)

   knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness

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

2. Conscience(noun)

   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

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

3. Conscience(noun)

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

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

4. Conscience(noun)

   tenderness of feeling; pity

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

Freebase(2.00 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

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(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. CONSCIENCE

   The fear of being found out.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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  

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

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

How to pronounce conscience?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say conscience in sign language?

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. Robert Southey:

   Would you who judge of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of pleasure, take this rule; whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things; in short; whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that is sin to you; however innocent it may be in itself.

2. John Lewis:

   I cannot in all good conscience be in a room with what he has said about so many Americans, i just cannot do it. I wouldn’t be honest with myself.

3. Roger Severino:

   Finally, laws prohibiting government funded discrimination against conscience and religious freedom will be enforced like every other civil rights law, this rule ensures that healthcare entities and professionals won't be bullied out of the healthcare field because they decline to participate in actions that violate their conscience, including the taking of human life.

4. Rick Santorum:

   Kim Davis has every right to say this should be a religious accommodation, i think that's something that (the Kentucky) governor can do within his own conscience.

5. Honoré de Balzac:

   Modesty is the conscience of the body.

Images & Illustrations of conscience

Popularity rank by frequency of use