adjective cog·ni·zant \ˈkäg-nə-zənt\

Definition of cognizant

  1. :  knowledgeable of something especially through personal experience; also :  mindful cognizant of the potential dangers

Examples of cognizant in a sentence

  1. Not like some college kid beaming in blissful ignorance, but rather like a worldly 23-year-old, self-aware and fully cognizant of the dire straits he's entering. —Jody Berger, ESPN, 14 June 1999

  2. … to assure you that I am neither privy to, nor cognizant of, any such clique; and that I most potently disbelieve in the existence of any such. —Abraham Lincoln, letter, 13 Oct. 1849

  3. … the idea of a machine cognizant of that human Achilles' heel, emotion, can conjure more sinister images—like HAL, the savvy, menacing computer in “2001,” whose fear that he would be unplugged led him to kill all but one of the crew members on a space mission. —Daniel Goleman, New York Times, 7 Jan. 1997

  4. He is cognizant of his duties as a father.

  5. not fully cognizant of the details of the trade agreement

Origin and Etymology of cognizant

see cognizance

First Known Use: 1820

Synonym Discussion of cognizant

aware, cognizant, conscious, sensible, alive, awake mean having knowledge of something. aware implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences aware of changes in climate. cognizant implies having special or certain knowledge as from firsthand sources not fully cognizant of the facts. conscious implies that one is focusing one's attention on something or is even preoccupied by it conscious that my heart was pounding. sensible implies direct or intuitive perceiving especially of intangibles or of emotional states or qualities sensible of a teacher's influence. alive adds to sensible the implication of acute sensitivity to something alive to the thrill of danger. awake implies that one has become alive to something and is on the alert a country always awake to the threat of invasion.

COGNIZANT Defined for English Language Learners


adjective cog·ni·zant \ˈkäg-nə-zənt\

Definition of cognizant for English Language Learners

  • : aware of something

Seen and Heard

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to reflect on carefully

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