Self-conscious

adj

adj ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Aware of oneself as an individual being.
  2. 2
    Excessively conscious of one's appearance or behaviour.

    "“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.[…]”"

  3. 3
    Uncomfortably over-conscious of one's appearance or behaviour; socially ill at ease.
Adjective
  1. 1
    excessively and uncomfortably conscious of your appearance or behavior wordnet
  2. 2
    aware of yourself as an individual or of your own being and actions and thoughts wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
affectedanxiousapprehensiveartificialawkwardbashful

Example

More examples

"It is, I think, an indisputable fact that Americans are, as Americans, the most self-conscious people in the world, and the most addicted to the belief that the other nations of the earth are in a conspiracy to undervalue them."

Etymology

From self- + conscious.

Related phrases

self-consciouslyself-consciousness

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.