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awareness
/əˈwɛənəs/
A state of conscious perception or knowledge. It describes the bridge between an external stimulus and the internal recognition of that stimulus. In a psychological sense, it refers to mindfulness—the ability to be present and attentive to one's own thoughts, emotions, or surroundings. This is more passive than 'attention', which implies a focused effort. In a social or political context, it describes a collective understanding of a specific issue (e.g., "cancer awareness"). Here, it means the transition from ignorance to basic knowledge within a population. Unlike 'consciousness', which is the binary state of being awake versus asleep/comatose, 'awareness' is often graded; one can have a 'low' or 'high' level of awareness regarding a particular subject.
Uncountable when referring to general consciousness or knowledge of a fact ('Public awareness of climate change is growing'). Countable when describing specific types of specialized perceptions or levels of mindfulness ('The monk achieved several higher states of awareness').