compunction

[ kuh m-puhngk-shuh n ]
/ kəmˈpʌŋk ʃən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR compunction ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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

OTHER WORDS FROM compunction

com·punc·tion·less, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH compunction

compulsion compunction

Words nearby compunction

compulsion, compulsive, compulsive personality, compulsory, compulsory purchase, compunction, compunctious, compurgation, compurgator, computation, computational complexity

Words related to compunction

conscience, pity, ruth, penitence, shame, repentance, reluctance, misgiving, contrition, sympathy, remorse, qualm, attrition, rue, punctiliousness

Example sentences from the Web for compunction

British Dictionary definitions for compunction

compunction
/ (kəmˈpʌŋkʃən) /

noun

a feeling of remorse, guilt, or regret

Derived forms of compunction

compunctious, adjective compunctiously, adverb

Word Origin for compunction

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