compunction

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2026 is:

compunction • \kum-PUNK-shun\  • noun

Compunction refers to a feeling of misgiving, that is, doubt or suspicion especially concerning a future event. It can also refer to a feeling of guilt or regret. The word is typically used in negative constructions.

// We moved ahead with the plans without compunction.

// They felt no compunctions about their crimes.

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Examples:

"As a younger man, he tried to finish everything he started. But today he drops a book without compunction if he's extracted what he needed or lost interest." — Jim Higgins, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 Dec. 2025

Did you know?

According to an old proverb, "a guilty conscience needs no accuser." The implication is that the sting of a guilty conscience can prick very hard indeed. The sudden guilty "prickings" of compunction are reflected in the word's Latin roots: compungere means "to prick hard" or "to sting." Compungere, in turn, comes from pungere, meaning "to prick," which is the ancestor of some other prickly words in English, such as puncture and point.