conscience

noun

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 fiction, narratology) 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.

(obsolete) Consciousness; thinking; awareness, especially self-awareness.

Roots

sciosci- · Latin · know

Synonyms for conscience

scruplesn moralityn compunctionn foreconsciousadj conscientiousnessn preconsciousadj subconsciousadj psychen

Synonyms & related words for conscience

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of conscience — including scruples, morality, compunction, foreconscious, conscientiousness, preconscious. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to conscience

Explore words related to conscience — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include consciousness, conscionable, moral, ethical, ethicize, nonethical, preconsciousness, ethic. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for conscience

Common synonyms for conscience include scruples, morality, compunction, foreconscious, conscientiousness, preconscious, subconscious, psyche — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does conscience come from?

The word conscience breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root sci-, from Latin scio (“know”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.