Compunctious
adjective /kum-PUNK-shus/ — Feeling remorse or guilt — pricked by conscience.
Definition
Feeling remorse, regret, or guilt — pricked by conscience. Compunctious is not crushing guilt but the precise, specific prick of knowing you did something that fell short of who you want to be.
Beyond the definition
Compunctious was Shakespeare's word — he put it in Macbeth. It carries that precise Shakespearean weight: not abstract guilt, but the physical sensation of conscience pressing against a specific action. You were compunctious about the way you left. Not devastated. Not consumed. Pricked.
Origin & history
From Latin compunctio (pricking, remorse), from compungere (to prick, to sting). English usage from the 16th century. Shakespeare used it in Macbeth: 'Stop up the access and passage to remorse, / That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose.'
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
She was compunctious about the way she'd left — not because she was wrong to go, but because her silence had been cruel.
He felt compunctious every time he thought of it — not tortured, just quietly marked.
Compunctious: the word for the conscience doing its job.
How to use it
This entry uses an adjective. Follow the examples for the nouns it describes and its position in the sentence.
Choose “Compunctious” when the meaning fits your context: Feeling remorse, regret, or guilt — pricked by conscience. Compunctious is not crushing guilt but the precise, specific prick of knowing you did something that fell short of who you want to be.
Synonyms
remorseful, guilt-pricked, conscience-stung
Antonyms
unrepentant, guiltless, brazen
Related words
Word in the Wild
Illustrative story: an imagined scene, not a documented event or interview.
He'd said it quickly, in frustration, and regretted it within thirty seconds. Not because anyone had called him out. Because it was unkind and he knew it while he was saying it and said it anyway.
The feeling that followed was specific: not guilt about being caught. Something quieter and more honest than that.
He texted an apology that afternoon. Not because anyone had asked him to — because the feeling had required it. The person replied warmly and the feeling eased, slightly, which was the correct outcome.
Questions about this word
What does "Compunctious" mean?
Compunctious is adjective meaning: Feeling remorse or guilt — pricked by conscience.. Feeling remorse, regret, or guilt — pricked by conscience. Compunctious is not crushing guilt but the precise, specific prick of knowing you did something that fell short of who you want to be.
Which words express “pricked by conscience over one specific thing”?
Compunctious — Feeling remorse or guilt — pricked by conscience.
Where does the word "Compunctious" come from?
From Latin compunctio (pricking, remorse), from compungere (to prick, to sting). English usage from the 16th century. Shakespeare used it in Macbeth: 'Stop up the access and passage to remorse, / That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose.'