cognizant

adjective

cog·​ni·​zant ˈkäg-nə-zənt 

: knowledgeable of something especially through personal experience

also : mindful

cognizant of the potential dangers

Synonyms

• alive
• apprehensive
• aware
• conscious
• mindful
• sensible
• sentient
• ware
• witting

Choose the Right Synonym for cognizant

aware, cognizant, conscious, sensible, alive, awake mean having knowledge of something.

aware implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences.

aware of changes in climate

cognizant implies having special or certain knowledge as from firsthand sources.

not fully cognizant of the facts

conscious implies that one is focusing one's attention on something or is even preoccupied by it.

conscious that my heart was pounding

sensible implies direct or intuitive perceiving especially of intangibles or of emotional states or qualities.

sensible of a teacher's influence

alive adds to sensible the implication of acute sensitivity to something.

alive to the thrill of danger

awake implies that one has become alive to something and is on the alert.

a country always awake to the threat of invasion

Examples of cognizant in a Sentence

Not like some college kid beaming in blissful ignorance, but rather like a worldly 23-year-old, self-aware and fully cognizant of the dire straits he's entering. —Jody Berger, ESPN, 14 June 1999

… the idea of a machine cognizant of that human Achilles' heel, emotion, can conjure more sinister images—like HAL, the savvy, menacing computer in "2001," whose fear that he would be unplugged led him to kill all but one of the crew members on a space mission. —Daniel Goleman, New York Times, 7 Jan. 1997

… to assure you that I am neither privy to, nor cognizant of, any such clique; and that I most potently disbelieve in the existence of any such. —Abraham Lincoln, letter, 13 Oct. 1849

He is cognizant of his duties as a father.

not fully cognizant of the details of the trade agreement

Recent Examples on the Web

And that is affecting his ability to be cognizant and conduct himself in a way that's becoming as a young emperor. —EW.com, 22 Oct. 2024

When a gun incident happened earlier this year, our SROs were cognizant of the potential issue and took immediate action. —Caroline Beck, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Oct. 2024

Those Who Succeed in Summoning Lightning Finally, founders need to be cognizant of the role luck plays in this all. —Alexander Puutio, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024

Yet the Olsens are also cognizant that their Paris store is part of a living, breathing neighborhood—and the windows, when the blinds are open, will allow passers-by to glance in and see what’s inside during the day, while the space will be lit to feel homey at night. —Mark Holgate, Vogue, 23 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

cogniz(ance) + -ant entry 2

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above