compunction

English

WOTD – 3 August 2015

Etymology

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French, from Late Latin compunctionem (“a pricking”), from Latin compunctus, the past participle of compungere (“to severely prick”), from com- + pungere (“to prick”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəmˈpʌŋk.ʃən/

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌŋkʃən

Noun

compunction (countable and uncountable, plural compunctions)

1. A pricking of conscience or a feeling of regret, especially one which is slight or fleeting.

   Synonyms: qualm, regret, remorse; see also Thesaurus:remorse

   • 1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “Something Right Somewhere”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, book the second (Riches), page 366:

     [H]e would have had no compunction whatever in flinging him out of the highest window in Venice into the deepest water of the city.

   • 1897, Bram Stoker, “Jonathan Harker’s Journal—Continued”, in Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC, page 36:

     [T]he instant the door had closed behind him, I leaned over and looked at the letters, which were face down on the table. I felt no compunction in doing so, for under the circumstances I felt that I should protect myself in every way I could.

   • 1920 November 9, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter VIII, in Women in Love, New York, N.Y.: Privately printed [by Thomas Seltzer] for subscribers only, →OCLC, page 112:

     But he felt, later, a little compunction. He had been violent, cruel with poor Hermione. He wanted to recompense her, to make it up.

   • 2003 February 16, Blaine Greteman, "No Peace Dividend," Time:

     As for average U.S. consumers, they've shown little compunction about buying diamonds that fund bloody militias in Africa.

Translations

pricking of conscience

• Arabic: نَدَم (ar) m (nadam), وَخَز الضَّمِير m (waḵaz aḍ-ḍamīr)
• Bulgarian: угризе́ние (bg) n (ugrizénie)
• Catalan: compunció f, remordiment m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 內疚／内疚 (zh) (nèijiù), 内疚 (zh) (nèijiù)

• Czech: výčitky svědomí ?, lítost (cs) ?
• Dutch: wroeging (nl) f, gewetensbeet m, compunctie f
• Finnish: huono omatunto
• French: scrupule (fr) m, remords (fr) m pl
• German: Gewissensbisse (de) pl, Reue (de) f
• Hungarian: lelkiismeret-furdalás
• Ido: kompunciono (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: compunzione f
• Japanese: 良心の呵責 (りょうしんのかしゃく, ryōshin-no kashaku), 悔悟 (かいご, kaigo)
• Maori: kaniawhea
• Norwegian: samvittighetsnag n, snev av dårlig samvittighet n
• Portuguese: compunção f
• Romanian: compuncțiune f, remușcare (ro) f, regret (ro) n
• Russian: угрызе́ния со́вести n pl (ugryzénija sóvesti), раска́яние (ru) n (raskájanije), сожале́ние (ru) n (sožalénije)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гризо̀дӯшје n, грижња савјести f

  Roman: grizòdūšje (sh) n, grižnja savjesti f

• Spanish: compunción f, remordimiento m

See also

• contrition
• penitence, penance
• guilt