compunction
Americannoun
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a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse.
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any uneasiness or hesitation about the rightness of an action.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of compunction
1350–1400; Middle English compunccion (< Anglo-French ) < Late Latin compūnctiōn- (stem of compūnctiō ), equivalent to Latin compūnct ( us ), past participle of compungere to prick severely ( com- com- + pungere to prick; cf. point) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
When you feel compunction you feel very, very sorry, usually for something you did to hurt someone or mess something up. When you feel no compunction, you're not at all sorry. The noun compunction comes from the Latin verb compungere, meaning “prick sharply.” When you feel compunction, you feel a sharp prick of your conscience. The word compunction is often used in the negative in phrases like “without compunction” or "no compunction." You might say that the burglar acted without compunction when he stole your baseball card collection.
Vocabulary lists containing compunction
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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A Tale of Two Cities
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is completely unacceptable — especially as Ron Baron feels no compunction about going on TV and talking up SpaceX in the most pie-in-the-sky manner possible.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
To do so, he calculated, would risk ongoing public spats with not just the most powerful man on the planet, but someone with near zero compunction when it comes to spectacularly falling out with people.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2026
Still, with their seemingly limitless budget, the Dodgers have shown no compunction against excess.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
The question is, what do you do about the people who just sail from case to case and don’t feel any compunction about having misrepresented?
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2025
Years later, I’d fall in love with a guy who, like Suzanne, stored his belongings in heaps and felt no compunction, really ever, to fold his clothes.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
