compunction
noun
Havelock Ellis Robert Penn Warren 
Did you know?
An old proverb says "a guilty conscience needs no accuser," and it's true that the sting of a guilty conscience—or a conscience that is provoked by the contemplation of doing something wrong—can prick very hard indeed. The sudden guilty "prickings" of compunction are reflected in the word's etymological history. Compunction comes (via Anglo-French compunction and Middle English compunccioun) from Latin compungere, which means "to prick hard" or "to sting." Compungere, in turn, derives from pungere, meaning "to prick," which is the ancestor of some other prickly words in English, such as puncture and even point.
Synonyms
- misgiving
- qualm
- scruple
Example Sentences
Steve Coll, The New Yorker, 5 June 2022 Lloyd has no compunction about kidnapping Fitzroy’s niece (Julia Butters) as leverage, for instance. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 14 July 2022 In the end, Johnson was, is, an entitled, charismatic politician, who has felt the rules were made for others, and had no compunction about fabricating stories to get his way. Frida Ghitis, CNN, 12 July 2022 Two, the British Tories have an ingrained culture of stabbing their leaders in the back and in the front without compunction. NBC News, 10 July 2022 The Biden administration still has the opportunity to determine definitively who killed Shireen Abu Akleh and turn her case into a deterrent for those who might otherwise have little compunction about murdering members of the press. Yasmeen Serhan, The Atlantic, 7 June 2022 The man who had no compunction whatsoever about slaughtering children left a woman who just tried to kill him alive. Erik Kain, Forbes, 15 June 2022 For me, reciting the compunction statement became a prayerful reckoning with herself. Jennifer Maas, Variety, 4 June 2022 Their love had cooled, and Ms. Smart showed little compunction in letting someone take her place. New York Times, 19 May 2022 See More Word History
Middle English compunccioun, from Anglo-French compunction, from Late Latin compunction-, compunctio, from Latin compungere to prick hard, sting, from com- + pungere to prick — more at pungent
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
compunction
noun
Synonyms & Similar Words
- doubt
- remorse
- scruple
- qualm
- regret
- objection
- guilt
- misgiving
- conscience
- suspicion
- uncertainty
- unease
- distrust
- question
- skepticism
- uneasiness
- reluctance
- mistrust
- contrition
- incertitude
- dubiety
- reluctance
- protest
- demur
- penitence
- remonstrance
- misdoubt
- unwillingness
- repentance
- indisposition
- reservation
- self-reproach
- disinclination
- unwillingness
- shame
- uncertainness
- aversion
- qualmishness
- fuss
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- certainty
- certitude
- sureness
- conviction
- confidence
- aplomb
- assurance
- self-assurance
- self-confidence
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of compunction are demur, qualm, and scruple. While all these words mean "a misgiving about what one is doing or going to do," compunction implies a spontaneous feeling of responsibility or compassion for a potential victim.
In some situations, the words demur and compunction are roughly equivalent. However, demur implies hesitation caused by objection to an outside suggestion or influence.
Although the words qualm and compunction have much in common, qualm implies an uneasy fear that one is not following one's conscience or better judgment.
While in some cases nearly identical to compunction, scruple implies doubt of the rightness of an act on grounds of principle.