cognizant

Etymology

A new formation from cognizance + -ant; first attested in the 19th century. Compare Old French conoissant (present participle of conoistre; modern French connaissant), from Latin cognōscentem (accusative singular present participle of cōgnōscō).

adj

1. Aware; fully informed; having understanding of a fact.
   The defendant is cognizant that this is a serious charge.
   And now the memory has so far regained its dominion, that, in some measure, I am cognizant of my state. 1844, Edgar Allan Poe, “The Premature Burial”, in The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, volume I, New York: J. S. Redfield, published 1850, page 336
   At the same time, we were cognisant that careful scholars should never solely rely on their own impressionistic observations, and, that our own impressions were inexact and not capable of being quantified. 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 7
2. Sapient; self-aware.
   It is important to note that zombies are not cognizant life forms. As such, they cannot be deterred or reasoned with in any way. However, there are zombie-inducing forces that can be deterred form further action. 30 April 2011, United States Strategic Command, CONPLAN 8888-11 "COUNTER-ZOMBIE DOMINANCE" (PDF), archived from the original on 2023-03-15, CONPLAN PHASES