compunctious

American  

[kuhm-puhngk-shuhs] / kəmˈpʌŋk ʃəs /

adjective

1. causing or feeling compunction; regretful.

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Other Word Forms

• compunctiously adverb

Etymology

Origin of compunctious

First recorded in 1595–1605; compunct(ion) + -ious

Example Sentences

“Oh, Mrs. Hawthorne, I beg of you not to feel homesick!” he cried, compunctious and really eager.

From Aurora the Magnificent by Brownell, Gertrude Hall

What hindered him from immediately acting upon it was a compunctious forecast of the concern which would prevail in his family, if he absented himself contrary to expectation.

From Strangers at Lisconnel by Barlow, Jane

Then I thought of the Manhattan, 90 towards whom I have guilty and compunctious feelings.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 24 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis

That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose.

From Familiar Quotations A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature by Bartlett, John

She must have gone indoors, they concluded, and Esther began to feel very compunctious for having left her alone so long.

From The Carroll Girls by Quiller-Couch, Mabel