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View synonyms for compunction

compunction

[ kuhm-puhngk-shuhn ]

noun

  1. a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse.
  2. any uneasiness or hesitation about the rightness of an action.


compunction

/ kəmˈpʌŋkʃən /

noun

  1. a feeling of remorse, guilt, or regret
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • comˈpunctiously, adverb
  • comˈpunctious, adjective
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Other Words From

  • com·punction·less adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of compunction1

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; point ) + -iōn- -ion
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Word History and Origins

Origin of compunction1

C14: from Church Latin compunctiō, from Latin compungere to sting, from com- (intensive) + pungere to puncture; see point
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Example Sentences

The stars of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, however, have no such compunctions.

From Quartz

Plus, part of the reason he’s shot so well from deep is that defenses have no compunction about leaving him open.

Ron and Russell, raised in Los Angeles, tell us that their parents loved bringing them to the movies, and had no compunction about walking in right in the middle.

From Time

You feel no compunction in removing them from the face of the Earth.

Salazar, as Win at All Costs reminds us, had no compunction about gaming therapeutic-use-exemption rules to get his runners on medication for the specific purpose of performance enhancement.

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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compulsory purchasecompunctious