compunction
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed)Synonyms: remorseself-reproach
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
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.] [1913 Webster]
That acid and piercing spirit which, with such activity and compunction, invadeth the brains and nostrils.— Sir T. Browne.[1913 Webster]
2.A picking of heart; poignant grief proceeding from a sense of guilt or consciousness of causing pain; the sting of conscience. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]