Compunction

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəmˈpʌŋk.ʃən/

Definitions

1. A feeling of guilt, regret, or reluctance about an action, especially one that involves moral or ethical concern
2. a feeling of guilt or moral hesitation that prevents someone from doing something they know is wrong
3. an internal discomfort or unease arising from conscience when considering an ethically questionable action

Etymology: Compunction began as a physical image: a sharp puncture. In Latin, "compungere" meant "to prick severely," built from "com-" (an intensifying prefix here, roughly "thoroughly") and "pungere," "to prick." Its past participle, "compunctus," gave Late Latin "compunctionem," literally "a pricking," and the noun passed through Old French into Middle English as "compunccion." The move from wound to conscience was made by the early Christian writers, who used the pricking image for the sting a sinner feels on realizing wrongdoing. The sense of remorse, rather than the physical prick, is what English took over, so a person now feels compunction the way one might feel a thorn lodged in the mind.

Synonyms: guilt, remorse, contrition, regret, scruples

Antonyms: indifference, insensitivity, unconcern, apathy, callousness