conscience

B2 Topic:Ethics & Social Judgment

US /ˈkɑn.ʃəns/ UK /ˈkɒn.ʃəns/ See IPA manual

Freq #3272

Meanings

1

noun
The part of your mind that tells you whether what you are doing is right or wrong.

His conscience would not let him keep the money he had found.
2

noun
A feeling of guilt about something bad you have done.

They have no conscience about their cruelty to animals.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the part of your mind that... moral sense

2 noun · a feeling of guilt about... scruples

Word family

Forms consciences

Derived forms conscience-moneyconscience-proofconsciencedconsciencelessconsciencelikeconsciencewiseconsciencismconsciencistconscientiouspseudoconscienceunconscienced

Related forms conscientious conscientiously conscientiousnessconscionableconsciousnesssynteresis

Appears in

Phrases (1)

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guilty conscience
a feeling of remorse about something one believes was wrong

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (4)

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Simplified etymology

Conscience entered English in the Middle English period with the sense “inner knowledge.” It is ultimately associated with Latin scire “to know,” the same root underlying science.

Etymology

From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”).

*skey- Proto-Indo-European conscience Middle English conscientia Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Ethics & Social Judgment

External links

# conscience

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑn.ʃəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒn.ʃəns/
**Frequency rank:** 3272

## Meanings
1. The part of your mind that tells you whether what you are doing is right or wrong.
2. A feeling of guilt about something bad you have done.

## Examples
- His conscience would not let him keep the money he had found.
- They have no conscience about their cruelty to animals.

## Derived Forms
- conscience-money
- conscience-proof
- conscienced
- conscienceless
- consciencelike
- consciencewise
- consciencism
- consciencist
- conscientious
- pseudoconscience
- unconscienced

## Related Forms
- conscientious
- conscientiously
- conscientiousness
- conscionable
- consciousness
- synteresis

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *skey-
- Root: conscience
- Root: conscientia

## Etymology
From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”).

## AI Etymology
conscience is a noun. It is from Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”). Historical forms in the chain include *skey- (Proto-Indo-European), conscience (Middle English), conscience (Old French), and conscientia (Latin). Current senses include the part of your mind that tells you whether what you are doing is right or wrong and a feeling of guilt about something bad you have done. Derived forms include conscience-money, conscience-proof, conscienced, conscienceless, and consciencelike. Related words include conscientious, conscientiously, conscientiousness, and conscionable.

## Topics
- Ethics & Social Judgment

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