consciousness
/ˈkɒnʃəsnəs/
consciousness means the state of being conscious or aware; awareness. It carries an Arena rating of 1377, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, consciousness ranks #397 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words, #1,054 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,894 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,747 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
consciousness is pronounced /ˈkɒnʃəsnəs/.
Why “consciousness” is a great word
The state of being aware of one’s own existence, sensations, thoughts, and surroundings. From the Latin *conscientia* ("joint knowledge, consciousness, conscience"), from *conscire* ("to be conscious of"), from *con-* ("with") + *scire* ("to know"). The modern philosophical sense of awareness of one's own mind is attested from the 1670s, notably in the writings of John Locke. Unlike “conscience” (a specific moral arbiter) or “unconsciousness” (its utter absence), consciousness is the shimmering field of sentience itself. It is the sudden recognition of one's own breathing in a quiet room, the private taste of salt on a tear, the inexplicable ache of a memory surfacing unbidden—the silent, ceaseless hum of a candle flame trying to illuminate its own wax.
Etymology
From conscious + -ness.
noun
- The state of being conscious or aware; awareness.
- The state of being conscious or aware; awareness.; The state or trait of having cognition and sensation; cognition and sensation themselves.e.g.“To lose consciousness after striking one's head”
- The state of being conscious or aware; awareness.; The fact of having knowledge of a particular fact or matter; cognizance.
- The state of being conscious or aware; awareness.; Acute awareness (of something) and belief in its communal relevance.e.g.“the development of a feminist consciousness”
- A being with cognition.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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