conscientious

English

Etymology

From Middle French conscientieux, from Medieval Latin cōnscientiōsus. Its English equivalent could possibly be analyzed as conscient +‎ -ous. See more at conscience.

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; painstaking.

   He was a thoughtful and conscientious worker.

2. Influenced by conscience; principled; 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 objection
• conscientious objector
• hyperconscientious
• nonconscientious
• overconscientious
• ultraconscientious
• unconscientious

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), nauwgezet (nl), plichtsbewust (nl), zorgvuldig (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)
• Latin: pius (la)
• Latvian: apzinīgi
• Maori: urupū
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: samvittighetsfull

  Nynorsk: samvitsfull

• 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 (sv), plikttrogen (sv)
• Ukrainian: сумлі́нний (sumlínnyj), добросо́вісний (dobrosóvisnyj)

influenced by conscience

• Dutch: consciëntieus (nl), gewetensvol (nl)
• German: Gewissens-, dem Gewissen verpflichtet, auf dem Gewissen beruhend
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: samvittighetsfull

  Nynorsk: samvitsfull

• Swedish: samvetsöm (sv)
• Ukrainian: сумлі́нний (sumlínnyj), добросо́вісний (dobrosóvisnyj)

Further reading

• “conscientious”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “conscientious”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “vigilance” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.