as in doubts
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 compunctions
Russia and Ukraine show no compunctions about killing the civilians of their enemy.
—
Oded J K Faran, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
The boundaries of the world are delineated neatly by your compunctions.
—Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Oded J K Faran, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
The boundaries of the world are delineated neatly by your compunctions.
—Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compunctions
Noun
-
Yet doubts remain over whether digging ditches along short stretches of Chile's more than 4,800 miles of porous borders will do much to curb the flow of migrants, drugs, or contraband.—
John Bartlett,
NPR,
23 May 2026
-
Many Models For Taste, Not One All of which is why Ansari doubts that taste will be solved by a single layer bolted onto a foundation model.—
Ray Ravaglia,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Noun
-
The staffers who fill Lynn’s network appear to have no such qualms.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
26 May 2026
-
In 2023-24, there could have been no qualms about which player better suited this Arsenal team.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
Beyer’s criticism adds to a growing list of objections surrounding the project.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
27 May 2026
-
Prospective candidates will likely face objections, a ballot process where the legitimacy of signatures is formally challenged.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Colonial authorities regularly questioned their character, scruples, and business practices; Grietje and Anthony returned the favor.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 May 2026
-
And like any good femme fatale, Maddy is given savvy at the expense of moral scruples.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
His verse betrayed lots of confidence about the magnitude of his growing popularity and also, perhaps, a few misgivings about the nature of it.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
-
Firecracker has a lot of misgivings over all of this, and these are heightened when she’s visited by her old pastor who asks her for help after a supe attacked his church.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Compunctions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compunctions. Accessed 29 May. 2026.
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