What does consciousness mean?
Word: Consciousness
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Consciousness means the state of being awake and aware of what is happening around you. It also means knowing about or noticing something, as in a growing consciousness about clean air.
Synonyms: awareness, alertness
Antonyms: unconsciousness
How do you spell consciousness?
Syllables: con - scious - ness
Tricky part: Students drop the s before the c and write conciousness. The middle is sc, spelt just as in science.
Watch out for: conciousness, consiousness, conscioussness
Memory tip: You need to be conscious in a science class, and both words keep the same sc: write con, then the sc of science.
Consciousness in a sentence
Example 1: As the alarm rang, Tanvi slowly drifted back into consciousness and reached for her glasses.
Example 2: The clean-up day raised consciousness about waste in our block of flats.
Example 3: Grandpa says his first moment of consciousness each morning is the smell of filter coffee.
Fun Fact
Conscious comes from a Latin word meaning 'knowing', and the same Latin family gave English the word conscience, which people often mix up with it.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Probe
Fill the blanks with 'o' and 'e'. Which option gives the meaning of the word that these letters complete?
1. consci__usn__ss 2. s__dn__ss 3. happ__n__ss 4. w__akn__ss
a) the condition of being awake and knowing what goes on
b) a lack of strength in the body
c) the feeling of being unhappy
d) the feeling of being glad and pleased
Show answer
a) the condition of being awake and knowing what goes on. Only the first word takes o and then e; sadness needs a and e, happiness i and e, weakness e twice.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
Yoga teaches us consciousnes of our breathing, said the instructer at the start of the class.
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 0
Show answer
b) 2. Two slips: the noun finishes with a double s, and instructor ends in -or.
Sound Check
In which word is 'sc' pronounced differently?
a) fascinate
b) consciousness
c) conscience
d) luscious
Show answer
a) fascinate. Fascinate says its sc as a plain s; in consciousness, conscience and luscious it is said 'sh'.
Word Champ
Read the statements and choose the correct option:
1. Consciousness is the state of being awake and aware of your surroundings. 2. Conscience is the feeling of being very sleepy after lunch. 3. A conscientious pupil works carefully and thoroughly.
a) both 1 and 3 are true
b) only 1 is true
c) both 2 and 3 are true
d) all three are true
Show answer
a) both 1 and 3 are true. Conscience is the inner sense of right and wrong, not sleepiness; statements 1 and 3 are correct.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Someone with 'environmental consciousness' ___.
a) studies very old buildings
b) sleeps through every storm
c) cares about protecting nature
d) is afraid of the dark
Show answer
c) cares about protecting nature
2. 'Public consciousness about road safety' means ___.
a) people being angry about it
b) people paying money for it
c) people racing on the roads
d) people knowing and caring about it
Show answer
d) people knowing and caring about it
