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adj. 1. a. Characterized by or having an awareness of one's environment and one's own existence, sensations, and thoughts. See Synonyms at aware. b. Mentally perceptive or alert; awake: The patient remained fully conscious after the local anesthetic was administered. 2. Capable of thought, will, or perception: the development of conscious life on the planet. 3. Subjectively known or felt: conscious remorse. 4. Intentionally conceived or done; deliberate: a conscious insult; made a conscious effort to speak more clearly. 5. Inwardly attentive or sensitive to something: As he spoke, he became increasingly conscious of his high-pitched voice. 6. Showing awareness of or preoccupation with something. Often used in combination: a cost-conscious approach to health care; a value-conscious shopper. n. In psychoanalysis, the component of waking awareness perceptible by a person at any given instant; consciousness. [From Latin cōnscius : com-, com- + scīre, to know; see skei- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] conscious·ly adv. |
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