26984 words

conscience

2 definitions • 6 examples
1
the part of you that judges how moral your own actions are and makes you feel guilty about bad things that you have done or things you feel responsible for:

Examples:

guilty conscience He's been so kind and generous towards me recently - I think he's got a guilty conscience (= feels guilty).
matter of conscience This is a matter of conscience - it's a moral issue, not a political one.
clear conscience You didn't do anything wrong - you should have a clear conscience (= not feel guilty).
My conscience would really bother me if I wore a fur coat.
conscience about UK He's got no conscience at all (= does not feel guilty) about leaving me to do the housework.
2
the feeling that you know and should do what is right and should avoid doing what is wrong, and that makes you feel guilty when you have done something you know is wrong:

Examples:

[ C ] I have a guilty conscience for spending so little time with my kids.

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