compunction

Noun

Meaning

A pricking; stimulation.

A picking of heart; poignant grief proceeding from a sense of guilt or consciousness of causing pain; the sting of conscience.

Source: Webster's dictionary

Synonyms

remorse contrition self-reproach ruth rue penitence doubt protest guilt conscience regret objection shame reluctance sorrow
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Antonyms

paradise meanness agreement faith answer challenge
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Hypernyms

rue regret sorrow ruefulness

Hyponyms

penitence guilt repentance penance guilty conscience guilt trip

Phrases with the word

without compunction

Examples

The beginning of compunction is the beginning of a new life. George Eliot

The English can laugh and at the same time strike you down, without the least compunction. It is the secret of their success as a nation. Peter Ackroyd

Men who have been raised violently have every reason to believe it is appropriate for them to control others through violence; they feel no compunction over being violent to women, children, and one another. Frank Pittman

I have never forgotten how the deprivation of work erodes human beings, those not working and those related to them. And from that time on, I loathed an economic that could put a huge part of its workforce on the streets with no compunction. Herbert Schiller

She saw that in all wars, the first stage was to dehumanize the enemy, reduce the enemy to a lower level so that he might be killed without compunction. When the enemy was not human to begin with, the task was easier. Greg Bear

I've spent my entire adult life with the United States as a superpower and one that had no compunction about spending what it took to sustain that position. And it didn't have to look over its shoulder because our economy was so strong. Robert Gates

Close letter words and terms

compulsory service compulsoryness compunct compunctionless compunctious compunctiously