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}.