conscience

/ˈkɒn.ʃəns/

//ˈkɒn.ʃəns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"conscience" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“conscience” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,547 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#7,547
frequency rank, English
10
letters
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The ethical or moral sense of right and wrong, chiefly as it affects a person’s own behaviour and forms their attitude to their past actions.

Key facts for conscience
PropertyValue
Headwordconscience
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒn.ʃəns/
Letters10
Frequency rank#7,547
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “conscience” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). conscience lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for conscience is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɒn.ʃəns/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,547 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for conscience, with forms such as "cconscience", "cnoscience", and "concsience". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”). The correct English form is conscience, spelled C-O-N-S-C-I-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The ethical or moral sense of right and wrong, chiefly as it affects a person’s own behaviour and forms their attitude to their past actions.
  2. 2
    A personification of the moral sense of right and wrong, usually in the form of a person, a being or merely a voice that gives moral lessons and advices.
  3. 3
    Consciousness; thinking; awareness, especially self-awareness.

Etymology

From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”).

This word in other languages

conciencia(Español)conscience(Français)Gewissen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cconscience,cnoscience,concsience,connscience,consccience,consceince,consciance,consciecne,consciencce,conscienec,consciennce,conscinece,consicence,consscience,cosncience,ocnscience

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of conscience - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cconscience1cnoscience2concsience2connscience1consccience1consceince2consciance1consciecne2
Edit distance from "conscience"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "conscience"?
"conscience" is spelled C-O-N-S-C-I-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒn.ʃəns/.
What does "conscience" mean?
As a noun, "conscience" means: The ethical or moral sense of right and wrong, chiefly as it affects a person’s own behaviour and forms their attitude to their past actions.
What are common misspellings of "conscience"?
Common misspellings include "cconscience", "cnoscience", "concsience", "connscience", "consccience". The correct spelling is "conscience".
How do you pronounce "conscience"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "conscience" is /ˈkɒn.ʃəns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "conscience"?
From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “conscience”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-O-N-S-C-I-E-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkɒn.ʃəns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list