Directions: In the following question a pair of similar sounding words is provided. You are required to select the options that most appropriately describes the meaning of both the words and mark your response in the Answer Sheet accordingly.

'Conscious' and 'Conscience'

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

UPSC NDA-II (General Ability) Official Paper-I (Held On: 03 Sept, 2023)

'Conscious' means sense of right and wrong, and 'conscience' means awareness about something
'Conscious' means alert, and 'conscience' means presence of mind
'Conscious' means intent, and 'conscience' means unprincipled action
'Conscious' means aware, and 'conscience' means sense of right and wrong

Answer 1

The correct answer is 'Option 4'.

Key Points

"Conscious" refers to being aware of and responding to one's surroundings. (जागरूक)
- Example: He was conscious of the faint smell of coffee.
"Conscience" is an inner feeling or voice acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior. (अंतःकरण)
- Example: His conscience pricked him when he lied to his parents.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 4' i.e. 'Conscious' means aware, and 'conscience' means sense of right and wrong.

Additional Information

A belief system refers to a set of mutually supportive beliefs. The beliefs may be religious, ideological or philosophical. (विश्वास प्रणाली)
Presence of mind refers to calmness and quickness under pressure, allowing one to act effectively in an emergency. (सतर्कता)
Unprincipled action refers to actions not conforming to moral or ethical standards. (अनैतिक क्रिया)