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Webster 1913 Edition
Compunction
Com-punc′tion
,Noun.
[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.
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
. Webster 1828 Edition
Compunction
COMPUNCTION
,Noun.
1.
A pricking; stimulation; irritation; seldom used in a literal sense.2.
A pricking of heart; poignant grief or remorse proceeding from a consciousness of guilt; the pain of sorrow or regret for having offended God, and incurred his wrath; the sting of conscience proceeding from a conviction of having violated a moral duty.He acknowledged his disloyalty to the king, with expressions of great compunction.
Definition 2024
compunction
compunction
English
Noun
compunction (plural compunctions)
- A pricking of conscience or a feeling of regret, especially one which is slight or fleeting.
- 1857, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, book 2, chapter 6:
- [H]e would have had no compunction whatever in flinging him out of the highest window in Venice into the deepest water of the city.
- 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, ch. 3:
- I felt no compunction in doing so, for under the circumstances I felt that I should protect myself in every way I could.
- 1920, D. H. Lawrence, Women in Love, ch. 8:
- But he felt, later, a little compunction. He had been violent, cruel with poor Hermione. He wanted to recompense her, to make it up.
- 2003 February 16, Blaine Greteman, "No Peace Dividend," Time:
- As for average U.S. consumers, they've shown little compunction about buying diamonds that fund bloody militias in Africa.
- 1857, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, book 2, chapter 6:
Synonyms
Translations
a pricking of conscience
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