compunction
10
9.6
- noun
- /kəmˈpʌŋkʃən/
- Formal
:
remordimiento
- He felt a deep compunction after realizing the harm his actions caused to others.
- feels compunction
- little compunction
And I did that, you know, with no compunction of impropriety whatsoever.
- And I did that, you know, with no compunction of impropriety whatsoever.
- But someone, a lot of people don't have your that that moral compunction that you would have in that situation.
- So he says from compunction comes confession of sins, from confession comes penance.
- But Meghan Markle has never shown any compunction, any sorrow, although she crushes and it's all part of the cause for her.
- I would think that the Nazis with atomic weapons with no compunctions about deploying them would rank up there as even worse than the horrors that we saw.
Examples
-
You swear to God, and yet you have no compunction about teaching evolution.
-
Didn't you have any compunction about consorting with, if not actually assisting, murderers?
-
And yet he had no compunction when faced with possible arrest...
-
I however have no such compunction.
-
Only when he was out of the house, acting against their wishes, did he feel any compunction.
Fiction book (1997) -
I have no compunction about offering you my services 24-7.
-
I've no compunction about sending you to your death.
-
And Moses had no compunction about complaining to God at times, throwing up his hands, even arguing with God.
Academic text (1992) -
In any case, the survival advantage goes to those who endure surveillance without shame and can watch without compunction.
Academic text (2004) -
Despite this treatise being ostensibly a 'handbook for princes', Wyclif felt no compunction about backing the royal war in France.
Academic text (2010)
Synonyms
375
2.4
A feeling of being sorry and responsible for doing something wrong
156
4.5
A deep, painful feeling of regret and guilt after doing something wrong
16
4.2
A feeling of being sorry and worried after doing something wrong
16
8.4
A feeling of doubt about whether something is morally right
5
4.9
A feeling of guilt that makes you try not to do something wrong
1
3.9
Feeling sorry and responsible for doing something wrong
1
4.9
A feeling that you did something wrong or illegal
1
7.1
A feeling of blaming yourself for something you did wrong
1
6.0
A small feeling of guilt in a situation
A deep feeling of regret and sorrow for doing something wrong
Feelings that make you hesitate because something seems wrong
Antonyms
How Guilty
- Formal
19
8.4
156
4.5
- Formal
10
9.6
292
1.0
1
5.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
compunction = com + punct + ion
Although analyzable as com- + punct + -ion historically, the components are not productive English morphemes for most learners and the metaphorical meaning 'a pricking of conscience' is not derivable by a typical B1 learner.
Etymology
Compunction comes from the Latin parts com- 'with' and pungere 'to prick', like a small 'sting' in your mind and the same root as puncture. So compunction is a feeling of guilt that 'pricks' you and can stop you from doing something bad.