as in doubt
an uneasy feeling about the rightness of what one is doing or going to do
throughout her school years she cheated without compunction
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Recent Examples of compunction
Colvin never felt any ethical compunctions about selling solar panels.
—
Brendan I. Koerner, WIRED, 13 Jan. 2025
Indulging the illusion that humans can control these systems while war is ongoing will tie democratic nations’ hands against adversaries with no such compunctions.
—Sebastian Elbaum, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2024
People with elevated psychopathic traits lie—constantly, intentionally, with great skill, and without compunction.
—Gautam Mukunda, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
And if the writers are true to Tolkien, our heroes will have no compunctions about killing many, many, many orcs.
—Caitlin Penzeymoog, Vox, 7 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for compunction
Brendan I. Koerner, WIRED, 13 Jan. 2025
Indulging the illusion that humans can control these systems while war is ongoing will tie democratic nations’ hands against adversaries with no such compunctions.
—Sebastian Elbaum, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2024
People with elevated psychopathic traits lie—constantly, intentionally, with great skill, and without compunction.
—Gautam Mukunda, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
And if the writers are true to Tolkien, our heroes will have no compunctions about killing many, many, many orcs.
—Caitlin Penzeymoog, Vox, 7 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for compunction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compunction
Noun
-
Read’s lawyers continued their strategy of pointing out inconsistencies between testimony given by the prosecutors’ witnesses with an aim of sowing doubt about their testimony overall.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
-
Madrid were already having doubts about Alaba’s future even before his latest knee operation, as his entourage is aware.—
Mario Cortegana,
New York Times,
3 May 2025
Noun
-
And third, anyone without scruples can sell prescription opioids on the black market.—
Keith Humphreys,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Apr. 2018
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Seen against the backdrop of recent events, Vought’s disdain for the rule-of-law scruples of Federalist Society legal thinkers seems entirely in line with Trump’s recent post suggesting a federal judge shouldn’t have authority over his administration.—
Stephen Engelberg,
ProPublica,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Hearing begins with testimony from a family member The defense began by calling Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of Erik and Lyle, who testified that the brothers have repeatedly expressed remorse for their actions.—
Jaimie Ding,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
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Reports from that time indicated some talent felt his speech focused more on advising them to be careful about being recorded with cell phones and cameras, rather than expressing genuine remorse for his racist statements.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 May 2025
Noun
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It was never sold in the U.S. thanks to the unwavering objections of a resolute reviewer at the FDA named Frances Oldham Kelsey.—
David Armstrong,
CNN Money,
10 May 2025
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With Republicans going it alone, over the objections of Democrats in the House and Senate critical of the tax package as a giveaway to the rich that will hurt Americans who depend on federal services, leaders will need almost every Republican on board.—
Lisa Mascaro,
Chicago Tribune,
10 May 2025
Noun
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No such qualms concern the rotating infotainment display.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
13 May 2025
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No qualms about booting goal-kicks upfield, aiming for Dominic Solanke and Richarlison up front.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
9 May 2025
Noun
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The biggest takeaway from the interview was Hartwell’s regret for not being more vocal.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2025
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Another suspect, Abbas, who wrote a book about the heist, also showed regret about the robbery.—
Renan Botelho,
Footwear News,
13 May 2025
Noun
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That lawsuit was settled within 24 hours for $20 million, with no admission of guilt from Combs.—
Elizabeth Rosner,
People.com,
16 May 2025
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Proposing that the artifacts belong where their makers live now is sensible, but the problem at the heart of Dahomey is its presumption of guilt without resolution or remedy.—
Armond White,
National Review,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Compunction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compunction. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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