conscience
noun
Simple meaning
Motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kahnshuhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɑnʃəns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
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.
chiefly fictionnarratology
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.
Conformity to one's own sense of right conduct
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
Used this way, conscience is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It turns up most in ethics or values contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Honest and open
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Where it naturally appears
- Ethics/values
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use conscience
- “He has no conscience about his cruelty.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Payment made voluntarily to reduce guilt over dishonest dealings.
Remorse caused by feeling responsible for some offense.
An inner voice that judges your behavior.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Guided by or in accordance with conscience or sense of right and wrong.
One who refuses to serve in the armed forces on grounds of conscience.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: motivation deriving logically from ethical
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.