consciousness

/'kɔnʃəsnis/

Thân thiện

He regained consciousness in a quiet hospital room.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The state of being aware of and able to think about one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, etc.: The quality or state of being conscious, especially of something within oneself.
   • The totality of a person's thoughts, feelings, and perceptions; the mind's awareness of itself and the world: The state of being characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, and thought.
   • Full activity of the mind and senses, as in waking life: The normal state of being awake and aware, as opposed to being asleep or unconscious.

Usage and Examples

• General Awareness:
  • The patient regained consciousness after the surgery. (The patient returned to a state of being awake and aware.)
  • Her consciousness of the social injustice motivated her to become an activist. (Her awareness of the injustice was the driving force.)
• State of Mind:
  • Meditation aims to alter one's state of consciousness. (Meditation seeks to change the quality of one's awareness.)
  • The accident caused him to lose consciousness for several minutes. (The accident made him become unaware and unresponsive.)

Advanced Usage and Concepts

• Stream of consciousness: A literary style that presents a character's thoughts and reactions in a continuous flow, mimicking the inner workings of the mind.
  • The novel uses a stream of consciousness technique to depict the protagonist's inner turmoil.
• Raise consciousness: To increase public awareness and understanding of a social or political issue.
  • The campaign aimed to raise consciousness about environmental protection.
• Altered state of consciousness: Any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking state, such as sleep, meditation, hypnosis, or a drug-induced state.

Variants and Related Words

• Conscious (adjective): Awake, aware, and responding to one's surroundings. Also, being aware of a fact or feeling.
  • He was conscious during the entire procedure.
  • She was conscious of being watched.
• Unconscious (adjective): Not awake and aware of and responding to one's environment; also, done or existing without one's awareness.
  • He was knocked unconscious by the blow.
  • An unconscious bias.
• Subconscious (noun/adjective): Of or concerning the part of the mind of which one is not fully aware but which influences one's actions and feelings.
  • The memory was buried in her subconscious.

Synonyms

• Awareness: Knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.
• Cognizance: Formal term for awareness or notice.
• Sentience: The capacity to feel, perceive, or experience subjectively.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• To lose consciousness: To faint or become unconscious.
  • He lost consciousness after hitting his head.
• To regain/recover consciousness: To wake up or become aware again after being unconscious.
  • It took an hour for her to regain consciousness.
• In (full) consciousness of something: Fully aware of something, especially of a fact or responsibility.
  • He acted in full consciousness of the risks involved.

Học thuật

Noun

1. having knowledge of
   • he had no awareness of his mistakes
   • his sudden consciousness of the problem he faced
   • their intelligence and general knowingness was impressive
2. an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
   • he lost consciousness

Từ đồng nghĩa

• awareness
• cognizance
• cognisance
• knowingness