consciousness

noun

1. (uncountable)The state of being conscious or aware; awareness.
2. (countable, uncountable)The state of being conscious or aware; awareness.

   “To lose consciousness after striking one's head”

   “Consciousness is universal and precedes even the formation of our solar system.”

   “Yet this is the level of organisation that does the actual thinking—and is, presumably, the seat of consciousness.”

3. (countable, uncountable)The state of being conscious or aware; awareness.

   “Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.”

   “The solitude and the savage freedom filled his heart with life and buoyancy. Again he was Tarzan of the Apes—every sense alert against the chance of surprise by some jungle enemy—yet treading lightly and with head erect, in proud consciousness of his might.”

4. (countable, uncountable)The state of being conscious or aware; awareness.

   “the development of a feminist consciousness”

   “This new anti-military consciousness surfaced at the Gay Academic Union Conference held last month in New York, where two broadsides and a meeting were held to discuss the situation. And in San Francisco, after a stormy meeting of Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGEL), the group refused to co-sponsor a fund-raising event for former T/Sgt. Leonard Matlovich.”

5. (countable)A being with cognition.