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compunction
[ kuhm-puhngk-shuhn ]
noun
- a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse.
- any uneasiness or hesitation about the rightness of an action.
compunction
/ kəmˈpʌŋkʃən /
noun
- a feeling of remorse, guilt, or regret
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Derived Forms
- comˈpunctiously, adverb
- comˈpunctious, adjective
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Other Words From
- com·punction·less adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of compunction1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of compunction1
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Example Sentences
He had been audited when he was out of office, and now he had no compunction about using his power as president.
This is a man who has traveled to Iran and China with no compunction.
But we do know that voters who believe Mitt deplores them will have little compunction in not voting for him.
Penn State students, however, have shown no compunction about buying up as many season tickets as possible.
When I get them alone, I have no compunction about blowing them to bits.
Why should he have compunction—why think about it, when the hour of repayment was so near at hand?
And, after one swift glance at the first letter, Aristide had no compunction in reading.
And, therewith, a great tenderness and compunction in this man's heart, and a steady determination to put things right.
Yet this conclusion of the intellect did not prevent the pain of pity and compunction, nor an inconsequent sense of guilt.
I felt in those moments that for every hair of her head I could have killed a man and felt no compunction afterwards.
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