COMPUNCTIONS

Noun

compunctions

plural of compunction

Source: Wiktionary


COMPUNCTION

Com*punc"tion, n. Etym: [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 piecering 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. Remorse is anguish of soul under a sense of guilt or consciousness of having offened 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 May 2025

BOLLARD

(noun) a strong post (as on a wharf or quay or ship for attaching mooring lines); “the road was closed to vehicular traffic with bollards”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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