self-conscious.

1. Uncomfortably aware of how one's appearance or behavior may be judged.

2. Aware of one's own thoughts, actions, or place in a situation.

3. So deliberate about its effect or technique that the effort is noticeable.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• self-conscious smile
• self-conscious manner

On the page

Her self-conscious smile vanished once the camera was put away.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Comparative more self-conscious; superlative most self-conscious for degrees of discomfort or deliberate style. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: character, behavior. Commonness: moderately common.