Meanings
- uncountableThe state or characteristic of being conscientious.
It seems evident that those who have expressed the view that the following of personal inclination is sometimes morally better than conscientiousness are confusing this issue with another to which we must next give attention.
1965, The Rice University Studies, page 812 more examples
It is a terrible thing a Man should be put to Death for a Crime he is not Guilty of; yet so oddly Circumstances may meet in the infinite variety of Accidents, that it is possible it should come to pass, all the Wisdom that Judges, and Conscientiousness that Juries may be possess'd of, notwithstanding.
1723, Bernard Mandeville, An Essay on Charity and Charity SchoolsWe come now to the greatest and noblest of the Moral Powers of Man; to that power which makes him quite a different order of being from any other that we know of, and which is the glory and crown of his existence:—his Conscientiousness.
1848, Harriet Matineau, Household Education
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe quality of being in accord with the dictates of conscience
nounthe trait of being painstaking and careful
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Czech svědomitost
- svědomitoststate or characteristic of being conscientious
Danish samvittighedsfuldhed, pligtopfyldendehed
- samvittighedsfuldhedstate or characteristic of being conscientious
- pligtopfyldendehedstate or characteristic of being conscientious
Dutch consciëntieusheid, nauwgezetheid
- consciëntieusheidstate or characteristic of being conscientious
- nauwgezetheidstate or characteristic of being conscientious
- zorgvuldigheidstate or characteristic of being conscientious
Finnish tunnollisuus, tunnontarkkuus
- tunnollisuusstate or characteristic of being conscientious
- tunnontarkkuusstate or characteristic of being conscientious
French conscienciosité
- conscienciositéstate or characteristic of being conscientious
German Gewissenhaftigkeit
- Gewissenhaftigkeitstate or characteristic of being conscientious
Hungarian lelkiismeretesség
- lelkiismeretességstate or characteristic of being conscientious
Icelandic samviskusemi
- samviskusemistate or characteristic of being conscientious
Italian coscienziosità
- coscienziositàstate or characteristic of being conscientious
Polish sumienność
- sumiennośćstate or characteristic of being conscientious
Portuguese conscienciosidade
- conscienciosidadestate or characteristic of being conscientious
Romanian conștiinciozitate
- conștiinciozitatestate or characteristic of being conscientious
Russian добросовестность
- добросовестность (dobrosovestnostʹ)state or characteristic of being conscientious
Slovak svedomitosť
- svedomitosťstate or characteristic of being conscientious
Spanish conciencia
- concienciastate or characteristic of being conscientious
Swedish samvetsgrannhet
- samvetsgrannhetstate or characteristic of being conscientious
Turkish vicdanlılık
- vicdanlılıkstate or characteristic of being conscientious
Cite this entry
conscientiousness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/conscientiousness
“conscientiousness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/conscientiousness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “conscientiousness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/conscientiousness.
Source: conscientiousness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.