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more about compunction
compunction |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 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.] 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. 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}. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: compunction n : a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed) [syn: {remorse}, {self-reproach}]
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