conscientious

English

Etymology

From Middle French conscientieux, from Medieval Latin cōnscientiōsus.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌkɒnʃiˈɛnʃəs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑnʃiˈɛnʃəs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

conscientious (comparative more conscientious, superlative most conscientious)

1. Thorough, careful, or vigilant in one’s task performance.

   He was a thoughtful and conscientious worker.

2. Influenced by conscience; governed by a strict regard to the dictates of conscience, or by the known or supposed rules of right and wrong (said of a person).

   The advice of wise and conscientious people.

Antonyms

• capricious
• impulsive

Derived terms

• conscientiously
• conscientiousness
• conscientious objector

Related terms

• conscience

Translations

thorough, careful, or vigilant

• Bulgarian: добросъвестен (bg) (dobrosǎvesten)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 认真的, 投入的

• Czech: svědomitý
• Danish: samvittighedsfuld, pligtopfyldende
• Dutch: consciëntieus (nl), zorgvuldig (nl), plichtsbewust (nl), gewetensvol (nl)
• Esperanto: konscienca
• Finnish: tunnollinen (fi), tunnontarkka
• French: consciencieux (fr)
• German: gewissenhaft (de)
• Greek: ευσυνείδητος (el) (efsyneíditos)

  Ancient: εὐσυνείδητος (eusuneídētos)

• Hungarian: lelkiismeretes (hu)
• Icelandic: samviskusamur

• Italian: coscienzioso (it), coscienzioso (it)
• Latin: pius (la)
• Latvian: apzinīgi
• Persian: باوجدان‎ (fa) (bâvojdân), وظیفه‌شناس‎ (vazife-šenâs)
• Polish: skrupulatny (pl), sumienny (pl)
• Portuguese: consciencioso (pt)
• Romanian: conștiincios (ro)
• Russian: добросо́вестный (ru) (dobrosóvestnyj), созна́тельный (ru) (soznátelʹnyj), че́стный (ru) (čéstnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: (Ekavian) са́вестан, (Ijekavian) са́вјестан

  Roman: (Ekavian) sávestan (sh), (Ijekavian) sávjestan (sh)

• Spanish: concienzudo (es)
• Swedish: samvetsgrann, plikttrogen (sv)

influenced by conscience

• German: Gewissens-

• Swedish: samvetsöm (sv)

Further reading

• conscientious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• conscientious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• “vigilance” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.