compunction
noun
[ kəmˈpʌŋkʃ(ə)n ]
• a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that prevents or follows the doing of something bad.
• "they used their tanks without compunction"
Similar:
scruples,
misgivings,
qualms,
worries,
unease,
uneasiness,
hesitation,
hesitancy,
doubts,
reluctance,
reservations,
guilt,
feelings of guilt,
guilty conscience,
pangs/twinges of conscience,
remorse,
regret,
contrition,
contriteness,
self-reproach,
repentance,
penitence,
Origin:
Middle English: from Old French componction, from ecclesiastical Latin compunctio(n- ), from Latin compungere ‘prick sharply’, from com- (expressing intensive force) + pungere ‘to prick’.
