cognizant

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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A new formation from cognizance +‎ -ant; first attested in the 19th century.[1] Compare Old French conoissant (present participle of conoistre; modern French connaissant), from Latin cognōscentem (accusative singular present participle of cōgnōscō).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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cognizant (comparative more cognizant, superlative most cognizant)

  1. Aware; fully informed; having understanding of a fact.
    The defendant is cognizant that this is a serious charge.
    • 1844, Edgar Allan Poe, “The Premature Burial”, in The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, volume I, New York: J. S. Redfield, published 1850, page 336:
      And now the memory has so far regained its dominion, that, in some measure, I am cognizant of my state.
    • 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 7:
      At the same time, we were cognisant that careful scholars should never solely rely on their own impressionistic observations, and, that our own impressions were inexact and not capable of being quantified.
  2. Sapient; self-aware.

Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928), “Cognizant”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume II (C), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 597, column 1.