Meaning & use
conscience-stricken
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Feeling very guilty and troubled because you know you have done something wrong.
Grammar: Used after linking verbs like be, feel, or look, and before a noun: she felt conscience-stricken; a conscience-stricken look.
Patterns
- be conscience-stricken about something
- feel conscience-stricken that …
- a conscience-stricken expression
He felt conscience-stricken for days after forgetting his mother's birthday.
She looked conscience-stricken when she realized the money was not hers to keep.
The witness was conscience-stricken about staying silent for so long.
adjectivebefore a noun
Showing in your face or manner that you feel guilty about something.
Grammar: Comes directly before a noun to describe a look, expression, or tone that reveals guilt.
Patterns
- a conscience-stricken face
- a conscience-stricken tone of voice
He answered in a small, conscience-stricken voice.
There was a conscience-stricken expression on her face as she handed back the book.
Common combinations
- feel conscience-stricken
- I felt conscience-stricken after I shouted at him.
- look conscience-stricken
- She looked conscience-stricken the moment the teacher mentioned the missing test papers.
- a conscience-stricken expression
- A conscience-stricken expression crossed his face.
- be conscience-stricken about something
- They were conscience-stricken about leaving the dog alone all day.
- deeply conscience-stricken
- He was deeply conscience-stricken and could not sleep.
Synonyms and how they differ
- guilty
- The everyday word for feeling you have done wrong; conscience-stricken is stronger and more literary, suggesting real inner torment.
- remorseful
- Focuses on deep regret for a past act, while conscience-stricken stresses the nagging of your conscience right now.
- ashamed
- About embarrassment or loss of respect, not always about a specific wrong act, so it does not fit when guilt is the point.
- contrite
- A formal word meaning openly sorry and eager to make amends; conscience-stricken describes the private feeling rather than the apology.
Opposites
Word family
- conscience noun
- The inner sense of right and wrong that makes you feel guilty.
- conscientious adjective
- Careful to do your work properly and correctly.
- conscientiously adverb
- In a careful, thorough, responsible way.
- guilt-stricken adjective
- Built the same way and meaning overwhelmed by guilt.
Commonly confused: conscience-stricken or conscious? conscience-stricken or conscientious?
conscience-stricken vs conscious
Sounds similar but means awake or aware, not guilty: I was conscious of the noise, not conscience-stricken.
conscience-stricken vs conscientious
Means hard-working and careful, a positive quality, while conscience-stricken is about painful guilt.
Practice
After reading the letter, Maria felt ______ about the cruel things she had said.
Choose one answer.
'Conscience-stricken' describes the guilt she feels, which fits the context of cruel words. 'Conscientious' means careful and hard-working, a positive trait that does not match feeling bad, and 'conscious' means awake or aware.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “conscience-stricken”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.