- [countable, uncountable]
the part of your mind that tells you whether your actions are right or wrong 良心；良知 to have a clear/guilty conscience (= to feel that you have done right/wrong) 问心无愧／有愧 This is a matter of individual conscience (= everyone must make their own judgement about it). 这关系到个人的良知。 He won't let it trouble his conscience. 他不会让这件事搞得自己良心不安的。
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesc1After the meal she spent a week dieting to salve her conscience. 大吃一顿后，她花了一周时间节食以安慰自己。 At the end of each day, examine your conscience. 每天结束的时候，扪心自省一下。 He felt his conscience telling him to apologize. 他感觉良心一直告诉自己去道歉。 He wrestled with his conscience all night long. 他整晚上都在同自己的良心斗争。 Her conscience pricked her every time she thought of how cruel she had been to Kirby. 一想到自己对柯比曾经那么残酷，她就内疚心痛。 Her conscience was bothering her a little. 她的良心使她有点儿不安。 How can you do your job with a clean conscience? 你怎么能问心无愧地干你的活儿呢？ I have a clear conscience. 我问心无愧。 I have only ever followed my conscience. 我不过是一直凭着自己的良心行事罢了。 I never knew a more tender conscience on every point of duty. 我从没见过对自己职责的方方面面考虑得如此周到细致的人。 It should be a matter of individual conscience. 这应该是个人良知的问题。 It's important to let your conscience guide your decisions. 重要的是作决定不违背良心。 My conscience dictates that I resign. 良心驱使我辞职。 She refused to listen to the voice of conscience. 她拒绝听从良心的召唤。 To clear my conscience and make it up to you, I'd like to take you out to dinner. 为了消除我的内疚并补偿你，我想带你出去吃饭。 a bill which has shocked the conscience of every middle-class community 震惊了每个中产阶级社区良知的法案 a dying man with a guilty conscience 心怀愧疚的垂死之人 a government with no social conscience 一个没有社会公德的政府 a seminal conference on religious conscience and poverty 一个有重大影响力的关于宗教良知与贫困的会议 consumers with an environmental conscience 有环境意识的消费者 the collective conscience of American business 美国企业的集体良知 His decision appears to have been an act of conscience. 他的决定看起来是有良知的行为。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- clean
- clear
- easy
- …
- have
- appease
- assuage
- …
- guide somebody/something
- tell somebody something
- bother somebody
- …
- on your conscience
- an act of conscience
- an attack of conscience
- a crisis of conscience
- …
- [uncountable, countable]
a guilty feeling about something you have done or failed to do 内疚；愧疚 She was seized by a sudden pang of conscience. 她突然感到一阵内疚。 I have a terrible conscience about it. 我对此事深感愧疚。
Extra ExamplesHe had no conscience about taking his brother's money. 他对拿哥哥的钱一点儿也不觉得内疚。 Best came forward because of an attack of conscience. 因为良心发现贝斯特站了出来。 I had a sudden pang of conscience that I really ought to tell the truth. 我突然感到一阵内疚，觉得确实应该说出真相。 We assuaged our conscience by telling ourselves that they would be worse off without us. 为了使良心好过，我们对自己说没有我们他们会更糟糕。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- clean
- clear
- easy
- …
- have
- appease
- assuage
- …
- guide somebody/something
- tell somebody something
- bother somebody
- …
- on your conscience
- an act of conscience
- an attack of conscience
- a crisis of conscience
- …
- [uncountable]
the fact of behaving in a way that you feel is right even though this may cause problems 凭良心 freedom of conscience (= the freedom to do what you believe to be right) 凭良心行事的自由 Emilia is the voice of conscience in the play. 埃米莉亚在这出戏中是良知的代言人。
Extra ExamplesHow could people of conscience allow this to happen? 有良知的人怎么能容许这样的事情发生？ individual rights and rights of conscience on our campuses of higher education 我们高校校园内的个人权利和信仰权利
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- clean
- clear
- easy
- …
- have
- appease
- assuage
- …
- guide somebody/something
- tell somebody something
- bother somebody
- …
- on your conscience
- an act of conscience
- an attack of conscience
- a crisis of conscience
- …
Word OriginMiddle English (also in the sense ‘inner thoughts or knowledge’): via Old French from Latin conscientia, from conscient- ‘being privy to’, from the verb conscire, from con- ‘with’ + scire ‘know’.
Idioms
in (all/good) conscience
- (formal)
believing your actions to be fair （认为行为）公正地，公平地，凭良心
on your conscience
making you feel guilty for doing or failing to do something 使人内疚；良心不安 I'll write and apologize. I've had it on my conscience for weeks. 我要写信赔礼道歉。几个星期以来我都为此而良心不安。 It’s still on my conscience that I didn’t warn him in time. 我没有及时警告他，这仍然是我的良心。
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsc2It was on his conscience that he hadn't called her. 他因没给她打电话而愧疚不安。 I'm sure she has something on her conscience. 我肯定她心里有什么事儿让她良心不安。
prick your conscience | your conscience pricks you