1. Word finder
  2. Word definitions
  3. compunction

Find the word definition

What is "compunction"

Crossword clues for compunction

compunction
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
compunction
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
feel
▪ He felt no compunction in leaving his other two children, Betty could look after herself.
▪ Maskelyne felt no compunction to answer any of these allegations.
▪ Compared to people in other functional areas, they feel little compunction about challenging or questioning a superior.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Alistair left me and judy together with no compunction while he went off with the others.
▪ But they were generally accompanied by a sense of compunction and self-abasement of which Newland Archer felt no trace.
▪ Compared to people in other functional areas, they feel little compunction about challenging or questioning a superior.
▪ Four weeks ago, early yesterday even, she would have said no, without compunction.
▪ I have no compunction about seeing you in the gutter.
▪ Maskelyne felt no compunction to answer any of these allegations.
▪ When there was evidence, the prosecution had no compunction about strengthening it with lies.
▪ Without compunction, Fox kicked him awake.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Compunction

Compunction \Com*punc"tion\, n. [OF. compunction, F. componction, L. compunctio, fr. compungere, compunctum, to prick; com- + pungere to prick, sting. See Pungent.]

  1. A pricking; stimulation. [Obs.]

    That acid and piercing spirit which, with such activity and compunction, invadeth the brains and nostrils.
    --Sir T. Browne.

  2. A picking of heart; poignant grief proceeding from a sense of guilt or consciousness of causing pain; the sting of conscience.

    He acknowledged his disloyalty to the king, with expressions of great compunction.
    --Clarendon.

    Syn: Compunction, Remorse, Contrition.

    Usage: Remorse is anguish of soul under a sense of guilt or consciousness of having offended God or brought evil upon one's self or others. Compunction is the pain occasioned by a wounded and awakened conscience. Neither of them implies true contrition, which denotes self-condemnation, humiliation, and repentance. We speak of the gnawings of remorse; of compunction for a specific act of transgression; of deep contrition in view of our past lives. See Regret.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
compunction

mid-14c., from Old French compunction (12c., Modern French componction), from Late Latin compunctionem (nominative compunctio) "remorse; a pricking" (of conscience), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin compungere "to severely prick, sting," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + pungere "to prick" (see pungent). Used in figurative sense by early Church writers. Originally a much more intense feeling, similar to "remorse," or "contrition."

Wiktionary
compunction

n. A pricking of conscience or a feeling of regret, especially one which is slight or fleeting.

WordNet
compunction

n. a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed) [syn: remorse, self-reproach]

Usage examples of "compunction".

Nevertheless, Miss Dunstable seemed to have no more compunction in making calls upon his time, than she might have felt had he been her brother.

Scooby snacks, what this boils down to is that fantasies, much like dreams, free your brain to explore secret, extraordinary realms without the compunction of practicality, morality, or logic.

I do not know whether I pronounced these words with an air of compunction, but the abbot joined his hands and lifted them to heaven, as if to thank God for touching my heart and bringing me there to lay down the burden of my sins.

But somehow that seemed a little too subtle for people who owned interrogator droids and normally had no compunction about using them.

He did not conceal either of these sentiments from his empanelled countrymen, and that sort of compunction appeared shockingly imperfect to the crammed court.

One day, in a queer access of compunction, he had made Leila an offer of marriage.

There are occasions when those feelings of compunction which troubled Macbeth and his wife are wellnigh proof against the utmost powers of suggestion, or, as in the case of Hubert and Prince Arthur, compel the criminal to desist from his enterprise.

Had I been posted over prisoners I should have had no compunction about shooting at those trying to get away, and consequently I could not blame the Rebels for doing the same thing.

It may be that he pursues her doggedly and steadily, with no touch of compunction, remorse, or pity.

Saddam has no compunction about using these horrific weapons to kill millions and that he thinks more about revenge than deterrence.

Then a reaction of compunction set in, and she reminded herself that in fairness she ought to write and tell her news in as friendly a fashion as possible to her dismissed suitor before it burst upon him from some other quarter.

But in reality, she had no compunction about calling one of the handful of crime writers whose numbers were stored in her personal organizer.

Lindsey would have shot him without hesitation, without moral compunction, but he moved so incredibly fast, like a cat springing for safety, that all she would have gotten was a piece of the doorjamb.

Prescott felt no compunction to save the woman - it was merely part of his job to do so.

He had no wish to use violence, but he would have had no compunction about it if it became necessary.