Found 2 items, similar to compunction.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: compunction compunction n : a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed) [syn: remorse, self-reproach]
English → English (gcide) Definition: Compunction 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]