aware

adjective

ə-ˈwer 

1

: having or showing realization, perception, or knowledge

be aware of the danger

aware of the latest advances in medicine

2

archaic : watchful, wary

Synonyms of aware

• conscious
• cognizant
• mindful
• wary

Choose the Right Synonym for aware

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 aware in a Sentence

Are you aware how important you are to me?

She is one of the most aware people I know.

Recent Examples on the Web

Iranian officials are also painfully aware that their country was bombed during previous periods of negotiations with the US since the war that broke out in late February. —Lou Robinson, CNN Money, 19 June 2026

Not yet aware of her injury, Simms slowed and asked a man on the side of the road if her tires were still in good shape. —Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 19 June 2026

Hanlon wrote that the federal government has been aware of the charges against Sarsour for 25 years and considered them at least four times when evaluating his eligibility for naturalization. —Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026

Police are using the incident as a reminder to be aware of skimming devices and to report anything suspicious to an employee or police at the department’s non-emergency number at 203-576-7671. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English iwar, iwarre, going back to Old English gewær, going back to West Germanic *gawaro- (whence Old Saxon & Old High German giwar "cognizant"), from *ga-, perfective, associative and collective prefix + Germanic *waro- "cognizant, watchful" — more at com-, ware entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing aware

• hyper-aware
• self-aware

Rhymes for aware

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare
• cookware

Kids Definition

aware

adjective

ə-ˈwa(ə)r 

-ˈwe(ə)r

: having or showing understanding or knowledge : conscious

awareness noun