Look-alike words

Conscience vs. Conscious

Conscience is a noun: your inner sense of right and wrong. Conscious is an adjective meaning awake, or aware of something. A guilty conscience keeps you up at night; a conscious patient can answer questions.

Word	Part of speech	Meaning
conscience	noun	the inner sense that tells you whether something you do is right or wrong
conscious	adjective	awake and able to notice what is happening around you
conscious	adjective	aware of something, or done on purpose

Conscience

noun: the inner sense that tells you whether something you do is right or wrong

Her conscience told her to return the extra change.
Marcus had a clear conscience after he explained the mistake to his boss.

Conscious

adjective: awake and able to notice what is happening around you

The patient was conscious and talking soon after the surgery.
Newborns are conscious of light and sound from their first days.

adjective: aware of something, or done on purpose

Maya is very conscious of how much sugar she eats.
We made a conscious choice to buy a smaller house.

How to remember the difference

Conscience ends like sense: it is your moral sense of right and wrong. Conscious ends in -ous, like nervous and curious, other adjectives that describe a person's state.

Good to know

Pronunciation differs: conscience is KON-shuns and conscious is KON-shus. Do not mix either one up with conscientious, an adjective meaning careful and hardworking.

Spot the mistake

I couldn't keep the money with a clear ~~conscious.~~ conscience.
Correct: I couldn't keep the money with a clear conscience.
She is very ~~conscience~~ conscious of her posture at work.
Correct: She is very conscious of her posture at work.

Check yourself

Pick the word that fits each sentence.

1. Try to be of how loudly you speak on the train.

2. Omar's bothered him after he skipped his sister's recital.