conscientiousness

noun

con·​sci·​en·​tious·​ness ˌkän(t)-shē-ˈen(t)-shəs-nəs 

plural conscientiousnesses

: the condition or quality of being conscientious

Apparently, the secret to a happy, healthy adulthood is learning early on to deal with disappointment and developing character traits—persistence, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control—to surmount it.

—Deanna Pan

Not surprisingly, they have found that people blessed with innate conscientiousness, meaning that they are organized and predictable, typically eat better and live longer than people who are disorderly.

—Gretchen Reynolds

Synonyms

• care
• carefulness
• closeness
• heed
• heedfulness
• meticulosity
• meticulousness
• pains
• scrupulousness

Examples of conscientiousness in a Sentence

finished the last details with as much conscientiousness as the first

Recent Examples on the Web

Just as the Big Five Personality Traits model helps identify key dimensions of personality—like openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness—successful leadership today requires understanding and adapting management styles to the unique attributes of each individual. —Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024

But praise is not the absence of conscientiousness, which Berger excelled in. —Emmanuel Iduma, ARTnews.com, 13 Dec. 2024

Manage your outsourced relationship actively—it'll take conscientiousness and work! —Randy Wong, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024

Lead is also associated with higher levels of ADHD, less agreeableness and conscientiousness, and higher levels of neuroticism. —Dylan Matthews, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1631, in the meaning defined above