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.
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This process is vital for learning and memory and for being conscious and aware.—David Oliver, USA Today, 16 May 2025 Just be aware of the potential for Moto AI to beam your data to the cloud.—ArsTechnica, 15 May 2025 Everyone is aware of the noise from the media and on the message boards (shoutout Lakers reddit), no one is acting like a trade is going to happen this summer for a couple of reasons.—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025 Some Asian families are aware of the presence of heavy metals in rice, but not the dangers posed by arsenic, said Gloria Tan, executive director of Gum Moon’s women’s residence at the Asian Women’s Resource Center in San Francisco.—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 15 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for aware
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
Time Traveler
The first known use of aware was
before the 12th century
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