Advertisement

consciousness (n.)

1630s, "internal knowledge," from conscious + -ness. Meaning "state of being aware of what passes in one's own mind" is from 1670s; meaning "state of being aware" of anything is from 1746. Consciousness-raising is attested from 1968.

Others are reading

Advertisement
Definitions of consciousness from WordNet

consciousness (n.)
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation;
he lost consciousness
consciousness (n.)
having knowledge of;
his sudden consciousness of the problem he faced
Synonyms: awareness / cognizance / cognisance / knowingness
From wordnet.princeton.edu