self-conscious

adjective

self-con·​scious ˌself-ˈkän(t)-shəs 

1

a

: conscious of one's own acts or states as belonging to or originating in oneself : aware of oneself as an individual

b

: intensely aware of oneself : conscious

a rising and self-conscious social class

also : produced or done with such awareness

self-conscious art

2

: uncomfortably conscious of oneself as an object of the observation of others : ill at ease

self-consciously adverb

self-consciousness noun

Examples of self-conscious in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet the complications inherent in such questions — in Yana-Wara’s life, really — are rarely glimpsed in these otherwise self-conscious performances. —Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024

Lacking the self-conscious grimness of Arrow that initially kept it away from four-color adventures, The Flash was immediately liberated to go full comic book, kickstarting the small-screen answer to the MCU. —Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024

As people have become self-conscious of their digital image, video studio designers, MCs, virtual background designers, and even plastic surgeons have found thriving new avenues for their businesses. —thehustle.co, 1 Nov. 2024

Berger made a cacophonous, confusing mess of the anti-war classic All Quiet on the Western Front back in 2022, and mistook its profound statements about the toll of conflict as an excuse for self-conscious seriousness drenched in bloody sturm-und-drang spectacle. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1632, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

self-conscious

adjective

self-con·​scious

ˈself-ˈkän-chəs

: uncomfortably conscious of oneself as an object of the observation of others

self-consciously adverb

self-consciousness noun