Compunction - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

com·punc·tion

Audio Help [kuh

m-puhngk-shuh

n] Pronunciation Key

–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.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME compunccion (< AF) < LL compūnctiōn- (s. of compūnctiō), equiv. to L compūnct(us), ptp. of compungere to prick severely (com- com- + pungere to prick; cf. point) + -iōn- -ion

]

—Related forms

com·punc·tion·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Compunction

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

com·punc·tion Audio Help (kəm-pŭngk'shən) Pronunciation Key
n.

A strong uneasiness caused by a sense of guilt. See Synonyms at penitence.
A sting of conscience or a pang of doubt aroused by wrongdoing or the prospect of wrongdoing. See Synonyms at qualm.

[Middle English compunccioun, from Old French componction, from Late Latin compūnctiō, compūnctiōn-, puncture, sting of conscience, from Latin compūnctus, past participle of compungere, to sting : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + pungere, to prick; see peuk- in Indo-European roots.]

com·punc'tious (-shəs) adj., com·punc'tious·ly adv.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
compunction

c.1340, from O.Fr. compunction (12c.), from L.L. compunctionem (nom. compunctio) "a pricking" (of conscience), from L. compunctus, pp. of compungere "to severely prick, sting," from com- intensive prefix + pungere "to prick." Used in fig. sense by early Church writers. Originally a much more intense feeling, similar to "remorse," or "contrition."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

compunction
noun
a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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compunction

compunction was Word of the Day on February 6, 2000.

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