Conscience vs Conscious: Which One Do You Need?
Conscience is your sense of right and wrong — a noun. Conscious means awake or aware — an adjective.
A guilty conscience. She was conscious throughout.
The test that settles it
Only one is a thing you can have. If you can put a or my in front, it is conscience.
“my ___ is clear” → a thing you possess, so conscience.
“___ of the risk” → describing awareness, so conscious.
Conscience hides the word science, and both are about knowing.
Conscience: moral sense
The inner judgement that tells you whether an action is right. A countable noun.
His conscience troubled him for years.
She acted on conscience.
A crisis of conscience.
Swap in moral sense. If it works, conscience.
Conscious: awake or aware
Either not unconscious, or deliberately aware of something. It also means intentional: a conscious decision.
The patient remained conscious.
I am conscious of the deadline.
It was a conscious choice.
Swap in aware or deliberate. If either works, conscious.
Side by side
| Conscience | Conscious |
|---|---|
| Noun | Adjective |
| Right and wrong | Awake or aware |
| Contains science | Contains -ous, like other adjectives |
| A clear conscience | Fully conscious |
The exception
Conscientious means careful and thorough, and it is built on conscience — a conscientious worker does the job properly because it would trouble them not to.
It is also one of the most misspelled words in English. Note the -sci- twice.
Where people get it wrong
| Incorrect | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| She was not conscience of the change. | She was not conscious of the change. | Awareness. |
| a guilty conscious | a guilty conscience | A thing you have. |
| conscious objector | conscientious objector | The fixed term uses the third word. |
| He made a conscience effort. | He made a conscious effort. | Deliberate. |
Practice — choose the right word, then check yourself.
- He could not silence his ___.
- She became ___ of a noise downstairs.
- A ___ decision to slow down.
- They registered as ___ objectors.
- It is a matter of ___.
Show the answers
1. conscience 2. conscious 3. conscious 4. conscientious 5. conscience
Frequently asked
How do I remember the spelling?
Both hide sci from science. The noun ends like patience; the adjective ends like famous.
Is subconscious related?
Yes — it is the adjective with a prefix, meaning below the level of awareness.
More words people confuse
