11.17.2009

Today's vocabulary lesson: conscious vs. conscience (it's all about the n at the end)

Glaring Error Alert!
Online article titled:

A fragrance shop with a conscious

Perhaps you know someone who mistakes one of these words for the other.  It's a simple error. But more important, it's annoying.  So let's clear things up, shall we? 
conscious [kon-shuh s] adj. 
1. aware of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts
2. having the mental faculties fully active

as in  "Bob was so wasted, he fell down the stairs and laid there unconscious until we found him the next morning."

(Why is the name Bob always the first one that pops into my head when I'm making stuff up?  That, and Sue. )

conscience {kon-shuh ns}
1. the ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual.
2. the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action

Joe could not, in good conscience, eat the leftovers that were in the fridge because he knew his mother wanted them for lunch.

Snatching day-old lasagna is definitely a  moral dilemma, if not a crime!  At least, in my household it is...

So there, it's very simple:  conscious = awake  &  conscience = Jiminy Cricket

What glaring errors vex you!? Leave a comment...

1 comments:

hanani said...

ha, i'm sure everybody has their own ... there and their is a personal pet peeve of mine

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