# conscientious

Pronunciation: say "kon-shee-EN-shuhs" US /ˌkɑnʃiˈɛnʃəs/, UK /ˌkɒnʃiˈɛnʃəs/

## Adjective

1. Careful, thorough, and watchful in doing one's work or duties, taking pains to get every part right.
   - Simple: Working hard and carefully so that a job is done well.
   - _A conscientious editor caught dozens of small errors in the manuscript._
   - _The night nurses were conscientious, double-checking every dose before giving it._
2. Of a person, governed by conscience and keeping strictly to what they believe is morally right.
   - Simple: Of a person, always trying to do what is right because of a strong sense of right and wrong.
   - _During the war he registered as a conscientious objector and worked in a hospital instead of fighting._
   - _She was too conscientious to keep the extra change the cashier had handed her by mistake._

## Origin

From Middle French conscientieux, from Medieval Latin cōnscientiōsus; in English it could possibly be analysed as conscient + -ous. It is related to conscience.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/conscientious (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).