self-conscious
UK[ˌself ˈkɒnʃəs]US[ˌself ˈkɑːnʃəs]
adj
Feeling undue awareness of oneself, one's appearance, or one's actions, often resulting in nervousness or awkwardness.
adj
(Of an action or manner) Deliberate and with full awareness, sometimes in an affected way.
Morpheme Breakdown
self
conscious
self
own identity
conscious
aware
Etymology
The compound "self-conscious" is a modern English formation, synthesizing two deeply rooted concepts. "Self," a core Germanic pronoun, establishes the object of awareness as one's own being. "Conscious" derives from Latin conscius, a term originally implying shared knowledge (com- "with" + scire "to know") but which evolved to denote private, internal awareness. The fusion of these elements in the 17th century created a term whose literal meaning, "aware of oneself," accurately describes its primary modern psychological sense. However, its logic also allows for a secondary meaning: an action performed with such acute self-awareness that it appears studied or artificial, highlighting the tension between natural instinct and deliberate performance.
Analysis
Structure: self (own identity) + conscious (aware)
self: From Old English self, seolf, sylf, meaning "one's own person." It is a Germanic root functioning as a noun or prefix denoting identity, sameness, or automatic action.
conscious: From Latin conscius ("knowing with others or in oneself"), from com- ("with") + scire ("to know"). In English, it functions as an adjective meaning "aware, having knowledge."
Examples
She felt very self-conscious about her accent when speaking in front of the large audience.
His laughter was a bit too loud and self-conscious, as if he were performing for the room.
Adolescents often go through a self-conscious phase, highly concerned with how others perceive them.