Define: Conscience

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Define: Conscience

Conscience \Con"science\, n. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p. pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]

1. Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [Obs.]

2. The faculty, power, or inward principle which decides as to the character of one's own actions, purposes, and affections, warning against and condemning that which is wrong, and approving and prompting to that which is right; the moral faculty passing judgment on one's self; the moral sense.

3. The estimate or determination of conscience; conviction or right or duty.

4. Tenderness of feeling; pity. [Obs.]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)