consciousness
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the state of being awake and able to see, hear, and think.
the state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings. Uncountable in this sense.
Simple“The patient slowly regained consciousness after the long operation.”
In context“The boxer lost consciousness momentarily after the blow, but he managed to recover his senses before the referee finished the count.”
UsageOften used with the verbs 'lose' or 'regain'.
SynonymswakefulnessawarenessAntonymsunconsciousness - 02 C1 Advanced
your mind and thoughts, and the way you notice things around you.
the totality of the impressions, thoughts, and feelings, which make up a person's conscious being.
Simple“The memory of the accident was always at the back of his consciousness.”
In context“The novel explores the protagonist's inner consciousness through a series of fragmented memories and sensory observations.”
UsageCommonly used in the phrase 'stream of consciousness' in literary contexts.
- 03 C1 Advanced
the ideas and opinions that a group of people share about a topic.
the shared set of ideas, attitudes, or beliefs held by a particular group or society.
Simple“The movement aimed to change the political consciousness of the country.”
In context“Environmental issues have finally entered the public consciousness, leading to significant changes in consumer behaviour and government policy.”
UsageOften modified by adjectives like 'class', 'political', or 'public'.
Usage consciousness across cultures
“Sadhguru, the yogi who taught me how to meditate, appeared on stage at Romania’s 470,000-capacity electronic music festival Untold to speak on the need for greater global, collective consciousness.”
“The company was vaulted into the public’s consciousness after Amazon Ring announced and then cancelled its plan to integrate Flock’s license plate reader technology into its doorbell cameras.”
From conscious + -ness.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.