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

Rapper Lee plays a young woman who initially feels self-conscious at a family gathering before her Tabby bag pulls her out of her shell. —Jean E. Palmieri, WWD, 5 Sep. 2024

Because physical objects mediate them, the conversations can be deeply personal without becoming self-conscious or awkward. —Gregory Crawford, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2024

To Bryan, Scopes’s choice to teach Darwin was a self-conscious affront to the moral order—and any meaningful future for humanity. —John Kaag, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2024

The film’s intimate sense of joy is not a deflection against the truth of what the Johnsons are facing, but a self-conscious, honest expression of it. —Eric Farwell and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 17 Aug. 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