excessively and uncomfortably conscious of your appearance or behavior; "self-conscious teenagers"; "wondered if she could ever be untidy without feeling self-conscious about it"
If you describe someone or something as self-conscious, you mean that they are strongly aware of who or what they are. Putting the work together is a very self-conscious process. + self-consciously self-consciously The world which the book inhabits seems too self-consciously literary, too introverted
Someone who is self-conscious is easily embarrassed and nervous because they feel that everyone is looking at them and judging them. I felt a bit self-conscious in my swimming costume Bess was self-conscious about being shorter than her two friends. + self-consciously self-consciously She was fiddling self-consciously with her wedding ring. + self-consciousness self-consciousness her painful self-consciousness
aware of yourself as an individual or of your own being and actions and thoughts; "self-conscious awareness"; "self-conscious about their roles as guardians of the social values"
self-awareness plus the additional realization that others are similarly aware of you embarrassment deriving from the feeling that others are critically aware of you